Wheaton, Illinois

===Establishment as county seat===
[[File:Old DuPage County Courthouse Aerial.jpg|thumb|left|The Old DuPage County Courthouse]]
[[File:DuPage_county_court_complex_aerial.jpg|thumb|left|The present-day DuPage county court complex]]
In 1857, the [[Illinois General Assembly|Illinois state legislature]] authorized an election to be held to decide the question of whether the DuPage county seat should remain in [[Naperville, Illinois|Naperville]] or be moved to the more centrally located Wheaton, which was on the [[Galena and Chicago Union Railroad]]. Naperville won the election by a vote of 1,542 to 762. Hostility between the two towns continued for the next decade and another election was held in 1867, in which Wheaton narrowly won by a vote of 1,686 to 1,635. At a cost of $20,000, the City of Wheaton quickly built a [[courthouse]] to house a [[courtroom]], county offices, and a [[county jail]]. The building was dedicated on July 4, 1868.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lapinski|first=John|title=History of DuPage County's Courthouses|journal=Journal of the DuPage County Bar Association|volume=12|issue=1999–00|url=http://www.dcbabrief.org/vol120999art3.html|access-date=23 May 2011}}</ref>

However, animosity between the two towns continued, and in 1868, as records were moved from the old Naperville courthouse to the new courthouse in Wheaton, Naperville refused to turn over the remaining county records, prompting a band of [[American Civil War|Civil War]] [[veteran]]s from Wheaton to conduct what came to be known as the "Midnight Raid" on the Naperville courthouse. As Wheatonites fled back on Wheaton-Naperville Road, Napervillians were able to secure some of the last remaining records, which were then taken to the [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] [[Recorder of deeds|Recorder]] in [[Chicago]] for safekeeping. During this time, Naperville was mounting a [[lawsuit]] against Wheaton accusing [[election judge]]s of leaving their posts for lunch during the vote when duplicate [[ballot stuffing]] allegedly occurred. As the courts deliberated the fate of the county seat, the records were destroyed in the [[Great Chicago Fire]] of 1871. Shortly thereafter, Wheaton was officially proclaimed the county seat.<ref>{{cite web|title=Church Bell 1846 |url=http://www.loveandjustice.org/OurHistory/church_bell_1846.htm|publisher=First Congregational UCC Naperville|year=2007|access-date=23 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720090550/http://www.loveandjustice.org/OurHistory/church_bell_1846.htm|archive-date=20 July 2008}}</ref>

As demand for space increased, the courthouse was rebuilt in 1887 at a cost of $69,390, modeled after the courthouse in [[Aledo, Illinois|Aledo]]. This structure was used for the next 94 years until the county's rapid growth prompted the building of a brand new complex.<ref>{{cite web|title=Our History|url=http://www.ewheaton.com/explore/living_history.html|publisher=Wheaton Chamber of Commerce|access-date=23 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929165242/http://www.ewheaton.com/explore/living_history.html |archive-date=29 September 2007|year=2001}}</ref> The [[DuPage County Courthouse|old courthouse]] is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], and was formerly used by [[National Louis University]] until National Louis moved to [[Lisle, Illinois|Lisle]] in 2004. It is currently being developed into luxury [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s.

On November 2, 1990, the courthouse moved to a building about two miles (3&nbsp;km) west in a new {{convert|57|acre|m2|adj=on}} complex at the corner of County Farm Road and Manchester Road. It was built at a cost of $52,500,000 and includes a {{convert|300000|sqft|m2|-4|adj=on}} judicial building. In 1992, the county sued the [[architect]] and [[General contractor|contractor]] for $4 million after several employees became ill from the ventilation system.<ref>{{cite web|title=Examples of Sick Building Legal Cases|url=http://www.aerias.org/DesktopModules/ArticleDetail.aspx?articleId=109&spaceid=2&subid=13#legal-examples|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929205654/http://www.aerias.org/DesktopModules/ArticleDetail.aspx?articleId=109&spaceid=2&subid=13#legal-examples|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2006|work=AQS's IAQ Resource Center|publisher=Aerias|access-date=23 May 2011}}</ref> In the end, however, the county received only $120,000 for minor repairs and the jury sided with the defendants, finding that the alleged problems were caused, primarily, by the county's negligent operation and maintenance of the ventilation system.