Historic Truman Courthouse back open after ransomware attack

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Jackson County’s Historic Truman Courthouse was back open Tuesday , April 16 after a ransomware attack closed it for exactly two weeks.

“We’re doing what’s called a soft opening this week ,” Jackson County Director of Collections Scott Lakin said in an interview with FOX4 Tuesday.

People were seen going in and out of the building on Tuesday. Lakin said most of the people going in and out though had appointments.

“A lot of people were waiting in line when the system went down,” he continued. “We’re trying to get caught up and take on those taxpayers in that situation first, and then we’re hoping to be fully open by next week.”

Michelle Hogan no longer lives in Jackson County but bought her car in the limits when she lived in it. She and her daughter Kaylee came to this building once over the past two weeks not knowing it was closed.

“It’s a pain to drive an hour to not know whether you’re going to have to pay, or you pocket your money,” Michelle said in an interview with FOX4 Tuesday.

“Very big,” Kaylee said when asked how big of an inconvenience it was that the courthouse was closed for two weeks. “Especially having to drag her out in it. It would have been easier to know that they were closed instead of driving all the way out here.”

Kaylee was referring to her baby daughter Paisley that she had with her when FOX4 interviewed her and her mom. Kaylee and Michelle both admit they didn’t check to see if the building was open earlier in the month when they came to it though. Tuesday, they were just happy they got in and out of the courthouse, saying the process only lasted about 15 minutes.

The courthouse will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the rest of the week. They’ll also be open Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon and every Saturday in May.

Monday, here’s part of what county leaders said about the three departments within the historic courthouse:

• Assessment: By appointment only. Prior scheduled appointments disrupted by the network outage are being rescheduled as a priority. Walk-in services will be available starting Monday, April 22.
• Collection : Residents are encouraged to utilize the secure online payment options available through the myJacksonCounty portal to avoid wait times. The collection and assessment departments will offer new weekend hours from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday, April 20 and every Saturday in May.
• Recorder of Deeds : Property records and marriage license applications are available online.

For now, residents are asked to not come in person unless it’s absolutely necessary and use the county’s online services.

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