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McHenry County soon might house “forensic detainees” in the county jail.
A proposed contract with the Illinois Department of Human Services would allow for up to 12 detainees to be in the McHenry County jail at a time. They would be people who have been found unfit to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity and are waiting to get into a DHS inpatient treatment program, according to the contract.
The inmates would come from other jurisdictions, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office business manager Sandra Salgado said Thursday during a meeting. The sheriff’s office also could turn down or refuse to continue to house an inmate, according to the contract.
Salgado said the contract had been in the works “for a while,” and Kankakee County has a similar agreement. Salgado said McHenry County officials were able to talk to their Kankakee counterparts and see what Kankakee County had to tweak to make the contract work for them.
Salgado said there’s an area of McHenry County’s jail that would keep forensic detainees separate from the general population.
McHenry County would be compensated $150 per inmate per day in addition to transportation and medical costs.
DHS would contract with Thresholds for mental health services, Salgado said, adding that the medical care would be handled by Wellpath, which provides medical services to the jail.
Board member Michael Skala, R-Huntley, asked what would happen right now without the contract. Undersheriff John Bucci said the county has three people currently in the jail waiting for a state placement. People stay where they’re housed if there isn’t a bed available, Bucci said.
Under the contract, Bucci said, those in the smaller jails would come to McHenry County, allowing Thresholds to provide its services at one jail rather than 15.
“We’re going to be a hub,” Bucci said.
The inmates would stay at the jail until a bed opens or they’re found fit to stand trial.
The contract would run through June 30, 2028, with an option for three one-year renewals.
Salgado said the contract is coming up now because the sheriff’s office wants to get it started by April 1.
“We feel that we are ready to go,” Salgado said.
The DHS contract comes about a year after the McHenry County jail started to house Lake County inmates. The counties agreed to the contract due to Lake County’s shortage of corrections officers. Lake County pays McHenry County $100 per day per inmate, and the contract allows up to 150 people to be housed in the McHenry County jail.
McHenry County previously had a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house ICE detainees in the McHenry County jail. An Illinois law passed in 2021 forced the county to cancel its contract with ICE, and by February 2022, no ICE detainees were in the jail. Kankakee County also had a similar contract with ICE.
The DHS contract is scheduled to come up for a vote Tuesday evening at the McHenry County Board, which starts at 7 p.m. at the county administrative building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock.