Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg entered into an agreement with the McHenry County Sheriff Robb Tadelman to temporarily house up to 150 Lake County Jail inmates at the McHenry County Jail. This transfer is necessary to alleviate safety concerns amid a staffing crisis at the Lake County Jail. With current employee vacancies, staff on FMLA (Family Medical Leave), and other absences, the Lake County Sheriff’s Corrections Division is down nearly 40% of its normal staffing levels.
Currently, correctional officers are being forced to monitor a higher number of inmates, leading to considerable safety issues. Based on the current staff to inmate ratio, correctional officers cannot adequately perform their duties to ensure both they and the inmates remain safe.
Through this one-year agreement, extendable up to two-years, Lake County will pay $100 per day, per inmate housed at the McHenry County Jail. McHenry County Corrections will transport all inmates to and from each jail, and ensure those being temporarily housed in McHenry County will be back in Lake County for their required court appearances.
It is expected with the reduction in overtime costs, reduction in cost for meals/medical care/other items for those housed in McHenry County, that there will be little to no additional financial costs incurred by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The Lake County inmates temporarily being housed in McHenry County will have the ability to meet with their attorneys virtually in a private setting via Zoom, in person at the McHenry County Jail, or by telephone. They will also have the ability to communicate with anyone they choose, as they do in Lake County, unless restricted by the Court.
Both Lake County Correctional Administration and McHenry County Correctional Administration will conduct regular operational reviews and assessments of this new program to determine its feasibility and operational efficiency. There are no mandates in the agreement for a specific number of inmates to be housed in McHenry County Jail, and the agreement can be terminated should it be necessary.
McHenry County Jail will begin receiving Lake County inmates the week of January 7, 2024.
“I am very thankful for the assistance of McHenry County Sheriff Robb Tadelman and his team. I cannot praise my correctional employees enough for all they’ve done during this staffing shortage. We will continue working toward filling staffing vacancies and I will continue advocating to Lake County leaders that increased pay for corrections staff, retention and sign-on bonuses are essential to recruiting and retaining high-quality employees.”
— Sheriff John D. Idleburg
McHenry County Sheriff Robb Tadelman said, “I’m happy and honored to assist Sheriff Idleburg and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office of housing inmates in their time of need. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is committed to working with our local law enforcement partners to assure the mission of safety is not lost.”
While Illinois Sheriffs have statutory authority to house inmates in adjoining county jails, Sheriff Idleburg and staff at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office worked extensively with Lake County Government leadership, to create and present an ‘Intergovernmental Agreement’ (IGA) with McHenry County, for the Lake County Board’s consideration. The McHenry County Board approved the agreement in November of 2023, but unfortunately, the IGA proposal was never presented to the Lake County Board, due to Lake County Government leadership removing the IGA from the agenda multiple times. Due to the IGA being removed from several agendas, Sheriff Idleburg moved forward with an agreement between the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, as allowed by law.
Permanently and temporarily holding inmates in adjoining county jails is not an uncommon practice and is done in various counties throughout the State of Illinois. Lake County previously utilized Boone County Jail for the temporary holding of inmates when the Lake County Jail was under renovation. It is the goal of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to increase correctional officer staffing levels and return the temporarily housed inmates to Lake County as quickly as possible.
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