Before Kane County commits any further to a proposed multimillion-dollar fix of its cramped and failing jail, the chairman of the committee charged with addressing the problem wants her panel to take what she described as a crash course in jail management.
Karen Steve-McConnaughay (R-St. Charles), chairman of the County Board’s Corrections and Rehabilitation Committee, said Tuesday the group plans to tour jails in DuPage and Lake Counties on Friday and Monday to gather information on their operation.
Steve-McConnaughay also has asked that no fewer than four private firms that own or manage jails nationally be solicited to evaluate Kane’s long-term corrections needs and, as quickly as possible, suggest proposals for meeting them.
“I want to hear what [the firms] do, how they do it and look at what their success rate is and the type of facilities they are running and do some type of quick evaluation … to see if [privatization] is the road we want to travel down further,” she said.
She said the committee hopes to ascertain within the next two months whether it should recommend against construction of a 200-bed jail addition, which is estimated to cost $12 million to $14 million.
The County Board has selected a construction management firm to head the project and already has spent an estimated $500,000 for planning and design. The addition is expected to take two years to complete.
Two federal consultants who made a brief assessment of Kane’s jail woes suggested in November that the 1970s-era jail be demolished and replaced with a new facility.
The suggestion by the National Institute of Corrections consultants has caused some County Board members to question their decision to expand the old jail.
“I just want to be able to say that we’ve really looked at the best solutions available,” said Steve-McConnaughay.
County Board Chairman Mike McCoy (R-Aurora) said the expansion has been two years in the making and the county has already spent a lot of money on it.
” “I have told [the committee members] if they want to make a recommendation to stop the project, that had better come soon or we would be at a point where we would be wasting more money,” said McCoy on Tuesday. “It’s not too late to stop it, but we’ve got a lot invested. No matter what happens in the future, we’re going to need those 200 new beds.”
