Sheriff Hain achieves goal of reducing Kane County Jail population

When he took office in December 2018, Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain's goal was to reduce the Kane County Jail's population by at least 20% within the first two years of his term.

The COVID-19 pandemic made that goal even more important.

"It was just kind of our vehicle that got us there faster," Hain said.

The Sheriff’s Office worked with Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon and Chief Judge Clint Hull to reduce the jail population by almost 35% in the month of March, from the daily average of 490 to 332 at the lowest point. The reduction was achieved by a combination of early releases or bond adjustments for jail residents held on non-violent crimes and signature bonds on new, non-violent, arrests during the court's bond call process.

And Hain was extremely happy to see only a small percentage of those who were released return to jail custody. Analyzing the jail's intake and release reports from March 13 to June 23, only 28 of the 1,000 people processed during that period came back into jail custody after their deferred or early release – a recidivism rate of 2%.

The Kane County Jail had experienced recidivism rates as high as 60% prior to the pandemic.

"To see the recidivism rate all the way down to 2% for people who are coming back into custody after their early release or deferral during the pandemic really kind of is a testament to where our judicial system can go," Hain said.

He noted the sheriff’s department's diversion programs are shifting to serve those outside the facility, with satellite locations for vocational training and job placement to help keep those with chronic criminal involvement from re-offending by offering professional opportunities.

"To keep people back home with their families and to get connected to employment with our diversion programs that we turned to the outside now, I think it really proves the point that we were trying to make in the first year-and-a-half," Hain said.

The reduced jail population also has resulted in savings to Kane County taxpayers. From March to the end of May, 2020, the jail saved $292,228 in operations cost because of a reduction in food and medical services, along with officer overtime that was no longer needed to staff a full facility.

To further support the new correctional and court environment, the Sheriff’s Office has opened their electronic monitoring program to full service capacity, as it was historically operated under Kane County Court Services before it was defunded in 2018.

To date, the Kane County Jail population remains COVID-free, which Hain attributed to several preventative measures.

"If the virus does get in there, the most likely carrier of it is going to be one of our employees," Hain said. "The employees are screened every day when they start work. And they have to wear full PPE, including a proper face mask and rubber gloves."

In addition, prisoners are quarantined for four weeks when they first arrive at the Kane County Jail and detainees who are more susceptible to the virus are placed in a more protected cell block.

"They have less contact with corrections officers and they have less contact with anybody coming in from the outside to mitigate their exposure levels," Hain said.