Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: Today’s must-read
Next Post: Tiny county wants Schock to pay for special elections
Posted in:
* This is bureaucracy at its dumbest…
The number of inmates from local jails transferred into the state prison system and sent home the same day — referred to as a “turnaround” — has tripled in the past five years. The number increased from about 330 in 2010 to about 1,000 in 2014, according to state prison figures prepared Feb. 13 for the maximum-security Northern Reception and Classification Center outside of Joliet.
Turnarounds last year accounted for nearly 6 percent of the 17,181 prisoners processed through the center. It cost about $800,000 to process those 1,000 individuals, including expenses for staff, DNA tests, meals, clothing, and train or bus money for transportation home, according to a Tribune analysis.
So, they’re sending mainly Cook County prisoners all the way to Joliet for a DNA sample and paperwork only to be released the same day? The state couldn’t just pay the county to do that, or station some DOC employees at the jail?
* Also…
A Tribune analysis shows that from October through January, 331 prisoners from Cook County spent a combined total of about 23,000 extra days beyond their sentences unnecessarily locked up at the jail. Delays in the court system occur for many reasons, including judges and lawyers not moving cases, and because of legal maneuvering.
Smith said it costs $143 a day to house an inmate in the jail, meaning the extended stays cost county taxpayers about $3.3 million.
It doesn’t actually cost the county $3.3 million because of fixed costs. But the judicial/prosecutorial/defense delays in dealing with mostly minor offenders is just ridiculous in Cook.
* Meanwhile…
America’s relationship with its mentally ill population continues to suffer as a result of inadequacies in the country’s mental health care system.
For the mentally ill in Chicago, the effects of this inadequacy are felt on a magnified scale, as budget cuts and a lack of community-based mental health resources have left these individuals with minimal support. More often than not, this means being repeatedly swept up into the criminal justice system for low-level, non-violent crimes
VICE News takes an immersive look at this issue by going inside the Cook County Jail and speaking with community members on Chicago’s south side.
* Watch it…
…Adding… From IDOC…
Hey Rich, I wanted to get this to you on the record, concerning the turnaround figures out of Cook County.
The IDOC is required by law to take offenders into its custody and process their discharge or release to MSR. The IDOC must take the offender’s picture, take a DNA sample, assign an IDOC number, process parole paperwork, assign a parole agent, verify parole host site, send an offender to medical to see if he needs a prescription, if he does, we provide a two weeks supply of medication. The IDOC will incur the costs of releasing a person on the same day whether he or she is processed at the NRC or at the Cook County Jail. There are an average of four turnarounds per day out of Cook County. We would have to pay for the staff at Cook County and backfill the positions at the NRC for processing offenders who come from other counties. There is insufficient justification for hiring additional staff to handle an average of four turnarounds a day. When you remove the staffing costs, we’re looking at a hard number of $56 per turnaround, which includes gate money, transportation money, shoes, clothing, and meals.
The bigger issue is how long it’s taking the court system to take an individual from arrest to conviction and sentencing. A change in statute might prove efficient if it mandates judges to order time served for offenders who have completed their sentence in the county jail.
Thanks,
Nicole
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 1:37 pm
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: Today’s must-read
Next Post: Tiny county wants Schock to pay for special elections
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
early reports from the one on one interviews with Chicago TV stations in SPI — no details, just the power point.
Comment by anonin' Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 2:09 pm
I applaud you for not buying into the hype and BS that this costs $3.3 million. The fixed costs are their. The stories that state each prisoner costs so much are garbage. If the county had one less prisoner or even 10 their are no actual cost savings. But the ignorant or maybe biased press somehow Never figures that out.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 2:13 pm
While this is not to minimize the issues with Chicago, after all they undoubtedly have the overwhelming number of mental ill patients in the state, the issue in rural areas are often much, much worse for those needing treatment. (Yeah, I know that is probably a run on sentence). There are few resources and often those that exist cannot accept more patients.
Comment by G'Kar Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 2:26 pm
Wrong thread, Brownie!
Comment by Whoopsin' Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 2:42 pm
Even when Sheriff Dart was a state rep representative, he was concerned about recidivism rate and the institutional costs over community mental health programs. We all should heed his advice. Mental health should be one of the state’s top concerns. Thanks for airing this for us Rich.
Comment by Just Sayin ... Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 2:52 pm
The actual marginal cost of keeping a prisoner an extra day is likely about $5, the cost of the food they eat (though the system likely overpays for that, so call it $10).
That said, keeping a person behind bars without proper cause carries a severe cost to that person and society.
Comment by gopower Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 2:54 pm
Fixed costs are real costs. Yes, it really does cost that much to keep people in jail.
A couple hundred prisoners removed here, a couple hundred jail inmates removed there, a thousand more prisoners over time by pulling ever more levers, and you can actually start closing wings, closing facilities, stop filling positions, stop paying to defend and settle lawsuits, and start saving real money.
Fixed costs aren’t fictional. Taxpayers really have to fork them over. The question is whether they would shrink if you reduce population meaningfully. The answer to the question is an unequivocal YES.
Per capita pro-rated “savings,” yes, those seem like funny-money…until it happens on a scale that isn’t so funny anymore.
Just like those per capita expenses that got us here in the first place. Ratcheting up the prison population seemed like it didn’t cost anything when we did it: the prison beds were just sitting there after all!
Until we the bill came due in full, it felt like charging $.01 on the credit card a couple billion times was no big deal.
The Superman Scheme of corrections.
Stop letting the people who invented the game claim it can’t go the other way.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 3:55 pm
Well said bleeding heart. Prisoners equal $$$ for those businesses that supply goods and services. Their lobby helps keep the laws so strict.
Comment by BlameBruceRauner Monday, Apr 13, 15 @ 4:47 pm
Thanks Nicole
Some facts can often trump sensational attacks on government
Comment by walker Tuesday, Apr 14, 15 @ 7:32 am