Kendall County jail operations plan would include eight layoffs

There are cost-savings to be gained from reducing operations or completely shutting down the Kendall County jail in Yorkville.

Closing the facility, which is now off the table, might have saved the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office $2.7 million per year.

Cutting operations by reducing the number of inmates, a plan which Sheriff Dwight Baird will submit to the Kendall County Board as part of his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, is expected to save about $1.5 million a year.

Both of those plans come at a significant human cost: employee layoffs.

Closing the jail entirely and shipping inmates to the Kane County jail in St. Charles would have come with 31 staff reductions. With five positions currently unfilled, that would have translated into 26 direct layoffs.

At a meeting with the county board on Aug. 11, Baird recommended a less drastic alternative.

Kendall’s female inmates would be transported to the Kane lock-up, but the Kendall County male population would remain, along with 20 out-of-county inmates.

When factoring in the five unfilled posts, the staff reduction of 13 would mean eight layoffs.

Baird said that with a declining jail population and a duty to protect both the public and its tax dollars, he can no longer run the jail in a fiscally responsible manner at the current level of operations.

County board members recognized the need for some out-of-the-box thinking on Baird’s part.

“You look at business side and I really think something has to change from the status quo,” county board finance Chairman Matt Kellogg said.

However, board members made clear that they were hearing worries, not support from the public for closing down the jail.

A major factor in Baird’s thinking is the new cashless bail system which will become law in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2023 and is expected to reduce the inmate population by about 30%.

The Kendall jail, with a capacity of 203, typically has about 130 to 140 inmates on a given day, but normally only 50 to 60 are from Kendall County, with the rest being federal prisoners or those from other jurisdictions.

The number of Kendall inmates would likely drop to less than 40, Baird indicated.

Under the cashless bail system, persons deemed not to be a threat to the public would be released on a signature bond.

Baird said he will work to ensure that employment is found for the deputies whose positions might be eliminated. He even suggested that additional deputies patrolling the streets could be one outcome.

“We need to have some discussions with labor,” Baird said.

“It may all go sideways after we hear from the public,” board Chairman Scott Gryder said.

Gryder acknowledged the corrections deputies who were in attendance at the meeting.

“Thank you for all that you do on behalf of the county,” Gryder said. “We are grateful for what you do.”

Corrections Deputy Dalton Misener spoke to the board, putting a face on the potential for layoffs.

“I would be one of them,” Misener told board members. “The jobs we’d get would come with pay cuts and farther drives.”

Casey Catwell, an 18-year veteran with the corrections staff, urged the board to take care of the deputies who might be laid off.

“We are a family. We hope you have our best interests at heart,” Catwell said.

Baird said that right now there are signs of staff burnout at the jail, with increased sick time and staff complaints.

Deputies volunteer less often for the overtime, Baird said, forcing others to work double shifts. There have been three unforeseen resignations within the past three months, he said.