Two more Bureau County deputies on the road? By taking inmate transfers, sheriff wants to boost patrols

If Bureau County residents will accept inmate transfers from Cook County, Sheriff Jim Reed thinks he can put two more deputies on patrol.

“That would be enough for me to put two more deputies on the road”

—  Jim Reed, Bureau County Sheriff

With fingers crossed, Reed is waiting for the Bureau County Board to resume discussions about an intergovernmental agreement with Cook County. If the board agrees, Reed will sign a deal to house overflow inmates from Chicago in exchange for a per diem rate of $65 per day.

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He's open for business - or at least he'd like to be. Bureau County Sheriff Jim Reed, seen here Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, outside a vacant cell in Bureau County Jail, is urging skeptics to reconsider a plan to house inmate transfers from Cook County. With the resulting funds, Reed would like to add two more patrol officers to police the many under-served municipalities in Bureau County. (Scott Anderson)

In a Tuesday interview, Reed said the arrangement is nowhere as dangerous or unmanageable as has been portrayed on social media. Though the agreement contains language allowing for up to 50 transfers, Bureau County Jail won’t accept anywhere close to that figure.

“We have absolutely no intention of housing 50 inmates,” he said. “We’re not jumping into the deep water here. We’re talking three, four or five people – maybe up to 10.”

An influx of 10, Reed said, would yield more $237,000 a year. He would divert those funds to step up patrols in the many communities without full-time police forces.

“That would be enough for me to put two more deputies on the road,” Reed said.

La Salle County did just that. When the SAFE-T Act was enacted and immediately slashed the census at La Salle County Jail, Sheriff Adam Diss imposed a hiring freeze and gradually transferred funds from corrections to patrol. As a result, six new hires will be on La Salle County roads by year’s end.

In the meantime, Reed is pushing back against “misinformation” that has circulated online about the proposed agreement with Cook County.

Terms of release

Reed said Cook County inmates will not, after completing their time, be discharged into Princeton. Instead, the agreement will be worded to ensure that Cook County collects their inmates and discharges them there.

Visitation

Cook County inmates will not have in-person visits. Nobody has, for that matter.

“All our visitation is by video,” said Becky Gosch, administrator of the jail since 2019. “We do have the option to come in and visit three times a week, but that too is through video for 15 minutes for free.”

Inmate selection

Bureau County won’t be getting the worst of the worst, Gosch said. The agreement will include provisions for Bureau County to decline any transfer.

“We get to review their file,” Gosch said. “We can review their disciplinary and medical records to make sure it’s an inmate we can safely house.”

She further noted the county’s goal is to primarily accept inmates in protective custody; that is, inmates who’ve cut deals and agreed to testify against gangs and career criminals and cannot, for their own safety, stay in general population.

Bureau County corrections officers are certified and trained for problems – “They can handle anything that comes this way,” Reed said – and it isn’t as if the jail is full of locals. Half the current inmates are not Bureau County residents.

Gosch said she supports the initiative to house Cook County inmates because the SAFE-T Act ushered in a slew of financial complications for Bureau County.

The county negotiated a food service contract based on an average daily population of 25 and medical services for 27. Last year, however, the average headcount was 11. Cook County transfers would give taxpayers better value for their money.

Cook County also has to pay for their inmates’ medical care, she said, leaving food as the chief expense for Bureau County.

“The average cost to feed an inmate is less than $15 a day,” Gosch said, “so the $65 per diem rate makes the agreement profitable right off the bat.”

Reed said county officials also need to think ahead. A facility that is under-used will steadily decay so Reed has ordered corrections officers to flush the toilets, run the taps, open the doors and throw the lights just to keep the jail in working order.

“You know what happens to a house if it sits empty and it’s the same situation here,” he said. “My staff has to keep up with that.”