Inmates are once again being lodged at the Warren County Jail. The facility reopened last week after closing in August due to a staffing shortage.
For the last several months, Warren County has been sending its inmates to the Mercer County Jail. That required local law enforcement officers to make the 50 mile round trip to drop off people they had arrested and later return them to Warren County for court.
“It has created a very cumbersome situation for us because of the court and the fact that we have an unusually high population right now. At one time we had 37 people in the Mercer County Jail. We were actually renting a school bus, a small one from the school district to do this,” said Sheriff Martin Edwards.
Edwards said Mercer County charged $40 a day per inmate. He declined to compare the daily rate to what it costs to keep an inmate in Warren County Jail, citing fluctuating costs depending on occupancy rates.
Staffing Shortage
Edwards said he had little choice but to close the jail in August when all his correctional officers left the department. He told Tri States Public Radio that low compensation has created high job turnover.
“We pay considerably less than neighboring counties. I don’t have the exact figures in front of me. But I do know that Knox County pays $20 an hour, Tazwell County just started advertising at $20 and so many cents an hour. Whereas we are paying right now $13.08 an hour.”
Edwards said he’s authorized to have up to 10 correctional officers on staff. Currently he has five correctional officers plus two other people who are finishing up their training in the academy run by the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Edwards said the county is working with the local AFSCME union to reach an agreement to increase pay for correctional officers.
Jail Occupancy
The Warren County Jail can now house up to 22 inmates. Edwards the state’s annual review recommended that the number of beds in a cell be cut in half from four to two due to safety concerns.
Six inmates moved in when the jail reopened last week. Edwards said more will be moved over in the coming weeks but some inmates will need to remain in Mercer County, including all female inmates for the time being.
He said the jail is comprised of four cell blocks which makes it difficult to separate some inmates from others.
“Obviously, females and males have to be segregated. You’ve also got certain classifications of people that come through the door. The ones who are effectively easy to deal that are not a safety or security issue versus the ones who like to do nothing but cause trouble. So it would be better if you had the method to effectively separate them from the ones who are not such a problem and put them in an environment that is easier to manage.”
An architectural review of the more than century old building that houses the sheriff’s department and jail is underway. Edwards told TSPR the assessment will help the county decide whether to further renovate, put on an addition to the building, or find a new facility. That report is expected next month.
