New Kane County jail unveiled, but more space may be needed soon

By James Fuller

The new Kane County Adult Justice Center and Sheriff's Office opened Friday to applause for it being on time and below budget, but the question moving forward will be whether it's big enough.

Kane County officials gathered for the unveiling of the new $56 million facility. All the flash of high-tech units, cells with thick glass instead of bars and a kitchen five times larger than what the old jail has were on display.

However, if inmates actually moved in on Friday, the jail would've been short by about three dozen beds. The new jail has 640 beds. The county's inmate population as of Friday morning was 676.

The new jail already has space to accommodate up to 768 inmates, but that area is just a shell right now. It's unclear how much it would cost to convert that shell to inmate areas at this point. The facility came in about $2 million below budget. It cost $5.1 million to convert shell space into offices for sheriff department employees.

Sheriff's office Spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said he expects the day inmates move into the jail there won't be a need to send any of them to other counties.

"The number of inmates is such a variable, but we're hoping to keep it around that 640 level," Gengler said. "It's quite possible we'll hit that goal. Just about a week ago we had less than 640 inmates."

Gengler said the jail population usually rises in the warm summer months and falls when it gets cold. That said, the idea that some of the shell space might need to be converted sooner rather than later is a real possibility.

"That's always something that's there depending on what the needs are," Gengler said. "If it looks like it's going to be a long-term issue and the need arises, then I think the need to convert some of that shell space will come a lot quicker. It's always in the back of everybody's mind that this going to be something that we're going to have to do some day."

Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay praised the new facility as a much needed replacement for an outdated, deteriorating and unsafe jail that "was built for a different time.

"This is a well-built facility that will last for many, many decades to come," she added.

Indeed, the jail has some of the most modern technology available. It will be used to house inmates in a much different fashion than the old jail allowed for. Touch-screen computers control every exterior door in the jail and can take over any housing unit at any time. Housing units of 64 beds each provide for either 2-man cells or 8-person dormitories. The inmate-run laundry can handle up to 900 pounds of clothes each day.

Perhaps most notable of all is the end of the sound of a barred-door rolling shut for each cell. Cells now have thick glass doors so officers can have unobstructed views of every inmate at all times. The lights and doors are all controlled by hand-held PDA units. Key cards have replaced actual keys in just about every area of the jail.

Chief Judge Donald Hudson praised one of the other key aspects of the new facility, which is a hallway that links the jail directly to the courthouse. Currently, inmates have to be bused across town to make it to court dates, slowing down the system. Creating efficiencies in the whole justice process is one of the ways the county hopes to keep the jail population down and minimize the need for expansion.

Hudson reminded officials at the ribbon-cutting that jails themselves cannot deliver justice, but they are also more than just a place of punishment and broken dreams.

"Ultimately a jail exists for the protection of the public," Hudson said. "We must never lose sight of that."