When Clint Hull started as a presiding judge in the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center in January, one of the first things he noticed was how much time families spent in the waiting room. Since court is confidential, minors and their families must sit outside the courtroom waiting for their cases to be called.

Maybe the second thing Hull noticed was that the waiting room contained some magazines and books that looked strikingly familiar to those that were there when he was a prosecutor in the courtroom back in 1997.

“We took a look and discovered that many of the magazines were four or five years old and focused more on adults than kids,” Hull said. “And I wondered if there was anything we could do about it.”

Enter Hull’s daughter Christina and her friend Zoey Kollhoff, both 14 and residents of St. Charles. As part of a confirmation service project, Christina and Zoey sent letters to their soccer buddies and neighbors asking them to donate used books and magazines that they could put in the waiting room.

On a cold night in February, the twosome came to the JJC with the magazines and books, threw out the old and replaced them with the new.

“The generosity of their teammates, friends, and family was amazing,” Hull said. “The juvenile waiting room is now filled with up-to-date magazines for adults and kids as well as a number of books for all ages. In addition, they have committed to keep the materials up to date by replacing the magazines as they get older with newer editions.”

Christina and Zoey also are seeking additional Spanish-language magazines and books.

“A number of our juveniles are bi-lingual, but their parents only speak Spanish,” Hull said. “So the kids are reaching out to find out if anyone would be willing to donate any magazines or books in Spanish.”

Both St. Charles students said it felt good to see the newer books and magazines on the shelves.

“The fact that we were able to do something kind for people we don’t know was really nice,” Zoey said. “I hope that the time the families have to spend in the waiting room will be a bit more comfortable because of all the books and magazines they have to look at and read.”

“It really brightened up the room,” Christina said. “I had fun collecting the books and imagining the kids reading them instead of just sitting in the waiting room with nothing to do.”

If you have books or magazines you’d like to donate to the Juvenile Justice Center waiting room, contact Suzanne at (630) 232-3440.