Lake Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo wants to move his court to the place it came from -- the Old Lake County Courthouse on the square in Crown Point.

His reasoning is understandable.

The Lake Court House Foundation, the nonprofit that operates the old building, had announced it was facing financial difficulty. The circuit court could bring a steady revenue stream to the foundation and a historically accurate use for the building.

Downtown Crown Point would see a boost from the spending that court employees and visitors would bring.

But foundation president Martha Wheeler has since said there's no room for Arredondo's court in the building because that room is booked for events and the weekly use of the Crown Point city judge.

So Arredondo has been rebuffed again on his attempt to move his court to the square.

Perhaps that's a blessing in disguise.

It's better to move all the county's courts to a single location so personnel and other assets could be shared more efficiently. That was pointed out in the Maximus study for the Good Government Initiative but has yet to be acted upon.

Of course, moving all the courts to one location and shutting down the satellite operations requires a regional bus system to be fully functional. All people who need to conduct business with the courts need to have easy and affordable transportation to them.

State Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, put forth House Bill 1435 in the Indiana General Assembly this year to generate money for moving the courts by creating a $10 fee for certain court transactions. Her effort needs to be revived.

The advantages of sharing personnel between the courts and eliminating the expense of operating satellite facilities make it important for Lake County officials to work on ways to consolidate the courts in a single location.

The hectic schedule at the old courthouse that prohibits the move of Arredondo's circuit court could be advancing the cause of good government in Lake County.