Kane Coroner, Sheriff eye possibility of county getting its own forensic lab

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – Forensic crime labs on police shows are known to get results nearly immediately – none of this waiting hours, days or weeks for toxicology.

In the real world, Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said they send samples out to a lab in Pennsylvania, which is why their toxicology for autopsies routinely takes two weeks.

Samples from 330 autopsies last year were sent to that lab for a basic panel at a minimum cost of $180 apiece, covering the transportation via FedEx and testing, Russell said.

“If it is preserved for a crime, they send back whatever is left and they keep some, too,” Russell said. “Most of the coroners in the state use this lab.”

Kane County Undersheriff Patrick Gengler said they rely on the state labs in Rockford or Joliet.

But those are not fast, either.

“You are at their mercy,” Gengler said. “You can say, ‘This is really, really important to us, we need this turned around.’ Well, 200 other people dropped off (material) and they need it really, really fast, too.”

Well how would it be if Kane County had its own lab to do toxicology onsite?

Enter Timothy Ruppel, principal chemist at Sugar Grove Analytical Laboratory in Sugar Grove Township, who came to them with an offer: He would help set up their own lab in the sheriff’s department and they could do their own toxicology and turn it around in hours or a a few days.

Russell and Gengler said their departments are thinking about it seriously.

“An opportunity came up that, wow, if we could do this and it would be economical, what would be the cost?” Gengler said. “It’s exciting to think it’s something we might be able to do.”

Ruppel said he is a retired forensic scientist who has worked with law enforcement years ago. He said his private lab is a small, two-man operation not suitable for law enforcement testing.

“In retirement, I do not intend to sit back and do nothing, so I approached the Kane County Sheriff’s Department to see if they had any interest in starting a lab,” Ruppel said. “I have the expertise and I actually own a great deal of my own equipment. If we can help each other, fine. Or we go our separate ways.”

They have only had one meeting last month and everything is up in the air right now, Ruppel said.

Options are to hire him to start and run the lab, which would include him bringing in his own equipment, or the county could purchase or lease equipment and hire him to put it together and run it, Ruppel said.

“None of those things are worked out yet,” Ruppel said.

And at this point, nobody knows how much anything will cost, if CARES Act funds can be used or if grants are available.

“Right now, it’s in the sheriff’s court to make a business plan to see the feasibility of it,” Ruppel said.

Testing would be for blood alcohol, marijuana, the presence of drugs and DNA, not a full service lab, Ruppel said.

State and federal labs can’t get to all the samples for testing in a meaningful timeframe, Ruppel said, whereas with its own lab, blood alcohol analysis can be done in 10 minutes, Ruppel said.

“If Kane has its own lab and can get results the same day or maybe tomorrow, will that serve the citizens of Kane County better to solve those problems sooner?” Ruppel said. “Is it worth the financial investment to do that? Can we do it in a more cost efficient and timely efficient manner? It’s all about better service to the local citizens of Kane County.”

Ruppel, Russell and Gengler all said if they can get a lab set up in Kane County, they see it as being a regional lab for neighboring counties.

“If we are doing it for Kane County and we have a facility, who is to say we couldn’t do it for other surrounding counties on a fee basis to offset the cost?” Ruppel said.