A referendum is on the ballot for voters in Warren County that would help get a new jail and sheriff’s office.
Voters in Warren County are being asked to say “yes” to a referendum that would increase local sales taxes by ¾%, which equates to 75 cents for every hundred dollars of tangible personal property bought. The ballot reads that the additional tax would cease being collected at the end of 25 years if not terminated earlier by payment in full of the debt for the construction of the new facility or by a vote of the County Board.
“The County received about $3.3 million in COVID money and they’ve committed $2 million of that money to this project. When the referendum passes on April 4th, we’ll start collecting revenue on January 1 of 2024,” said Chip Algren, former Warren County State’s Attorney who chairs the citizen advisory committee that spearheaded the referendum question on the ballot. “We will collect revenue for about three years so we build up a downpayment. So, from the $2 million from COVID, what we’ll accumulate from that three-year period, we’ll have roughly $5 million in a down payment. And, we’ll start construction at that point. So we would be looking [to start] construction in probably 2027.”
Bonds will be issued to cover the remaining costs of the new law enforcement center. The center will be located at Industrial Park Drive in Monmouth, located on a 6-acre tract in close proximity to the Monmouth Fire Department. OSF Holy Family Medical Center, GHAS Ambulance Service, and Interstate 34. The proposed new 40-60 bed jail would have cost between $16.2 – $18.6 million and could potentially bring in new income from housing inmates from neighboring counties. Construction is expected to take 18 months, depending on if the weather cooperates.
What does the new jail offer?
“There’s a lot of benefits to be realized,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Edwards told WGIL. “First of all, we’ll have a better ability to adhere to state standards on segregation of populations. By that, I mean that people are to be classified when they’re here. Such as sentenced or un-sentenced, male or female. And, this even includes the category of the offense, misdemeanor vs. felony.”
“Not only that, I think it would create a much safer environment for our correctional officers to work. One of our biggest issues now is our isolation cell. It’s at the top of a flight of stairs. When we deal with people who are combative or uncooperative, that creates a significant issue with trying to handle them. Then, even when we get them in there, just by the old design of the cell block we still get some damage in there or people are harming themselves because of the fact it’s all steel and concrete.”
Edwards says the sheriff’s office has run out of space in the office too. When suspects or victims are brought in for interviews, the office is exposed to noise and there isn’t a space better suited for that work. Sheriff Edwards also eluded to the jail deficiencies making it more difficult to retain employees.
The current jail was built in 1870 and has numerous issues. Between damaged electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems; the jail also sits too close to Immaculate Conception School, which prohibits it from being expanded.
“The front half that houses the office is 150 years old and the cell blocks are 108 years old. The building is worn out. There’s structural problems. You name it,” Algren said in an interview with WGIL on Wednesday. “We’re basically under threat from the state of being shut down at some point.”
What if the referendum fails?
Should the referendum fail, the Warren County Jail will be closed by the State of Illinois. Additionally, tax dollars will be sent to another county to transport and house inmates, and the sheriff’s office staff will be reduced.
“At some point, the state is going to close the jail down. It’s not a question of ‘if’ it’s going to happen but ‘when,'” Algren told WGIL. “And then our tax dollars will go to another county because we’ll have to pay somebody else to house our inmates.”
Because of state standards for jails, Warren County has to transport female inmates to Mercer County to be lodged in the jail there. Which costs the county $42 a day. Algren said that housing rates could rise in the future, which would cause the county’s transportation costs to skyrocket.
“I think that if that day ever comes when it closes, it’s going to be closed for good,” warned Sheriff Edwards. “And then we’ll spend from now till the end of the days at the mercy of whatever facility is willing to take us but obviously, they have to take care of their own needs first. I just think it’s a bad idea to become dependent upon someone else to manage ourselves.”
Additionally, there could come a day when no neighboring counties have space for Warren County inmates, forcing them to transport inmates even further.
