In 2010, in the midst of the economic recession, Lake County had 9,500 mortgage foreclosure cases pending. And one chancery judge. “I was it,” said Lake County Circuit Judge Mitchell L. Hoffman. When Hoffman was assigned to that court in spring 2007, the foreclosure call was held once a week on Wednesday mornings, lasting about 90 minutes. Three years later, Hoffman’s 950-square-foot courtroom — small, since it was not equipped for a jury — had between 400 and 500 cases a morning …