St. Joseph County judges are one step closer to getting some more space.
The County Council approved $3 million to turn the old jail into four new courtrooms.
The jail cells were torn out and the 1st and 2nd floors are being used for storage right now.
County judges say they're in need of the new courtrooms because there's somewhat of a backlog in cases.
The extra space will allow each judge to have his own courtroom.
"The playdough fun factory, you can only move so many things through so if you have a constraint in the processing, then there's no way we can move that volume of cases through and that's the problem we face because of space limitation," says St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge, Michael Gotsch.
The remodel will also help with security concerns by creating a separate entrance to bring prisoners into the courtroom.
The $3 million is taxpayer money to be used on economic development projects.
The appropriation still needs to pass the County Commission.
Commissioners will take a look at their meeting next week.
