Lee County Courthouse (Illinois)

The two principal Lee County governmental buildings in use today were built in 1899-1901 (Old Courthouse) and 1982-1983 (County Services Building). The century-old Classical Revival Old Courthouse structure, when built, housed the administrative, office, and judicial functions of the county. It is a domed structure with cut stone facing and free-standing Ionic columns. The cost of initial construction was $103,395 in the gold-coin money of the day. After the court functions of the 15th Circuit left the Old Courthouse, the former courtroom was repurposed as the meeting room of the County Board.^[4]

The post-World War II growth of governmental functions, particularly those connected with legal transactions and criminal processing, led to the initial construction of the Lee County Courts Building in the 1980s. A reinforced concrete structure faced with brown brick, the building was then expanded in 2004-2005. The modern Lee County Services Building complex now houses the judicial, public health, and day-to-day administrative functions of the county.^[4]

Prior to the construction of the Old Courthouse in 1899-1901, Lee County used a now-vanished brick structure that had been built on the same site in 1840-1841.^[4] A historical marker on the Old Courthouse lawn marks the site of an Abraham Lincoln campaign speech in 1856.