Kendall, Kane County To Merge Jail Operations Beginning In January

OSWEGO, IL — A new cashless bail system that goes into effect in January is expected to drastically impact inmate counts at local jails, which is expected to impact some local detention centers, including in Kendall County.

As Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird began to review what may be the most fiscally responsible way of dealing with the flow of inmates being held in the county, he began to look at alternatives as the new legislation will reduce the number of inmates being housed at Kendall County Jail.

Given the drop in inmates expected starting in 2023, Baird figured that rather than continuing to operate the jail in Kendall County, perhaps an existing good working relationship with Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain would provide a financially responsible way of dealing with the drop in inmate population.

Baird and Hain agreed that shifting the inmate population from Kendall County to Kane County was a realistic approach to the decline, officials said this week. The Kane County Jail will still need to operate based on their incarcerated population, officials said, but after taking into account the anticipated reduction due to the new bond system, Kane County would have ample space to accept the Kendall County inmates.

“Combining our jail operations and working together to serve our citizens is an example of partnership and collaboration,” Baird said in a news release. “By working together, we save taxpayer money and the inmates from Kendall County will have access to the same detainee services as Kane County inmates.”

Kendall County will pay Kane County to house their inmates, while saving their citizens millions of dollars, officials announced in a news release. The analysis shows that this concept will also provide unforecasted revenue to Kane County, all the while ensuring that the needs of the arrestees remanded to the custody of the Sheriffs are met.

Hain told Patch in an email on Tuesday that the final day rate for Kendall County inmates is still being negotiated and that that amount would need to be approved by the county boards in both Kendall and Kane counties.

Baird credited Hain with creating a collection of detainee service programs that have reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths among former inmates by 89 percent, dropped recidivism from a six-year average of 49 percent to 18 percent, helped to reduce countywide crime by 16 percent, and saved taxpayers an estimated $4.9 Million. Kendall County inmates will have access to all of these programs that are already in place, the news release said.

“We have been working behind the scenes on a concept like this to combine correctional centers in an effort to serve those with severe addiction issues and save our taxpayers millions by regionalizing services,” Hain said. “ Also, our lateral hire opportunities will help to ensure Kendall County officers are not left without employment. We are extremely proud to bring this to fruition.”