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Fun with numbers?

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Illinois

* If they had to hire extra staff, rent more jail space, etc., then I can see how this would be an actual cost. But the jail is there already. Staff is there. This seems to be a bit of fun with numbers…

Inmates not being transferred as expected to Illinois Department of Corrections’ facilities after being sentenced to prison has cost the taxpayers of Kankakee County $648,000 in seven months, says Sheriff Mike Downey.

Downey discussed the problem at a recent Kankakee County Board criminal justice committee meeting. He said the county is currently waiting for IDOC to take 33 inmates into state custody.

While they wait, the county is paying the tab for housing and medical, Downey said, adding that the state does not reimburse.

Using the $90 per diem the county receives for housing federal prisoners, Downey said that between Aug. 1, 2020, and March 3, the cost of housing state inmates was $648,000.

And if it does cost them some extra money, that’s exactly the sort of thing the federal relief programs were set up to pay for.

* Anyway, I checked with the governor’s office on this and was told…

IDOC is scheduling appointments to transfer people from county jails to corrections facilities in accordance with health and safety guidance. The department has implemented protocols with the goal of protecting those who are incarcerated, the staff inside the facilities and the communities where these facilities are located.

Transferred inmates have to be quarantined and single-celled for two weeks, per CDC guidance. From the relevant Pritzker EO…

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) will resume accepting the transfer of individuals from Illinois county jails. The scheduling of the arrival of individuals from county jails and the intake process to ensure the health and safety of the transferring individuals, as well as all individuals and staff at IDOC, shall be within the sole discretion of the Director of IDOC. In determining the timing of the arrival of individuals from county jails and the specific process for transfers to IDOC, the Director shall take into account several health and safety factors including (a) the capacity and safety of IDOC reception centers, and (b) whether the individuals to be transferred have been quarantined for 14 days and, following that quarantine period, have tested negative for COVID-19 before their transfer to IDOC. All approved transfers to IDOC shall follow the protocol established by IDOC in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), available at https://www2.illinois.gov/idoc/facilities/Pages/Covid19Response.aspx. The Director of IDOC will work closely with county sheriffs and other partners in the criminal justice system to determine whether transfer from specific county jails is feasible and to ensure that the guidelines will be implemented.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 3:22 pm

Comments

Guessin’ Sheirff Fife probably missin’ out on some fed moola —since he can quote the rate so facst.

Comment by Annonin' Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 3:27 pm
Prisoner keeping is a growing and malignant source of illegitimate revenue.

Comment by Dotnonymous Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 3:28 pm
Medical costs for inmates are born by the Jail on an inmate by inmate level. For example, it costs the jail about 10K for each inmate who gives birth while in custody, not counting staffing, etc.

Also, depending on typical occupancy levels, holding the extra inmates may require additional shifts, etc. OT adds up. Ditto food.

Comment by Just Another Anon Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 3:33 pm
33 x $90/day=$2970 per day.

Comment by DuPage Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 3:44 pm
= since he can quote the rate so fast. =

I’m betting any sheriff in the state (heck, in the country) could tell you that per diem without a second’s hesitation.

Comment by JoanP Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 3:56 pm
The rate of reimbursement is a compelling argument that housing (including food) and medical adds up to that for everyone. However, that could just be their rate of reimbursement as an understanding that it’s a factor into the overall budget…going to Rich’s point that the staff and facility are already there. It’s hard to say, because there is a bias in their claim.

Comment by NIU Grad Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 4:02 pm
Just tell the sheriff to solve his problem by muttering some nonsense about freedom and ignoring executive orders, or something.

Or does he not think that’s a solution to problems anymore?

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 4:03 pm
My guess would be that by holding on to the counties own inmates he does not have the space to hold federal inmates which pays well and is a way of adding revenues that a lot of counties like.

Like Rich stated, the federal stimulus money is intended for these situations.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 4:23 pm
I’m calling BS on the part of IDOC and the Gov.s response at this point. Once an individual has been sentenced to prison IDOC becomes responsible and the individual should be received by IDOC. At the beginning of the pandemic I understood the need to hold on transfers, but all prisons have now been offered the vaccine and should be able to accept those who have been tested or vaccinated. As to the cost, It is not hard to believe the cost to county jails is high. There are costs incurred for staffing, food, medical care, and transportation to and from court if there is additional litigation of any kind. Many small county jails are full of offenders that should be house in IDOC. Each sheriff should send a bill to the IDOC.

Comment by Southern Belle Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 4:56 pm
Can overcrowding in a jail lead to lawsuits?

Comment by Silent Rob Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 5:01 pm
“Can overcrowding in a jail lead to lawsuits?”

Yes.

The question is what such lawsuits could lead to.

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 5:11 pm
I can personally attest to county jail “food” quality…if you want to call two fish sticks…a little scoop of rice “pudding”…and a piece of generic wonderbread… food…O.K.

If you ever want more fish sticks… you can break them in two.

Comment by Dotnonymous Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 5:25 pm
I want to broach this carefully, although I suspect my experience is indicative of how pretty much every sheriff in Illinois does budgeting, if not every sheriff in the U.S.

Several years ago, I was asked to observe the county board’s budget meeting.

One of the little nuggets that came out of that experience was that the sheriff in my county sets up his budget by acting as if every bed in our jail complex had an inmate in it for 365 (or 366) days of the year, and that each inmate gets 3 meals each day.

Then, at the end of the budget year, when the sheriff has “unspent funds” because not every cell is occupied every day, and because those unoccupied cells don’t need meals, he can loudly proclaim that he has “saved the county sooooo much money (banned punctuation)”, and would the county board kindly mind buying him a new patrol car or radios or paying for extra training as a reward?

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out this sheriff and county board are playing the same game, and the sheriff isn’t losing money, he’s just not going to be able “save money” to convert to a different use.

I will also agree it’s possible that the state inmates are displacing federal inmates, and the cash that follows them.

Comment by Lynn S. Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 6:55 pm
-I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out this sheriff

This particular sheriff has made a name for himself in the news for other reasons in the past 12 months.

just google his name and county to see his interesting approach to things. Some of the stories have appeared on this very site.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Apr 22, 21 @ 8:38 pm