McLean County Sheriff's Lt. Jon Albee is looking to replace retiring sheriff Matt Lane next year.
In this interview with WGLT's Eric Stock, Albee said his role as lieutenant in multiple divisions has prepared his to lead the department.
No other candidate has declared for next year's March primary election.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Albee: I've had the pleasure of serving in a lot of different leadership positions across multiple divisions. That has really kind of opened my eyes to all sides of the business, if you will, from a budgetary standpoint to a patrol response, criminal interdiction and kind of everything in between. So, I think that I'm just a well-rounded person for the position.
WGLT: What are the biggest challenges the department faces now?
Certainly from a staffing standpoint, it's retention in the jail. We've done a lot over the last number of years to increase our recruitment efforts, and those have been successful. So now the trick is, of course, retaining these new officers.
How many do you have? And how short are you in number of corrections officers?
We have approximately 60 correctional officers that I understand now, and we're between five and 10 down. We've come a long way recently and are closer to filling that gap.
Corrections work is hard work, and can be perhaps long, unpredictable hours, 24/7, how do you go about marketing that?
It's a unique role for a unique candidate, and when it comes down to it, and needs a public servant that's wanting to serve and also wants to do their part in keeping people safe, even if it's an incarcerated subject, and basically it's a great way into law enforcement in general, and people have different career goals and aspirations and want to advance to different steps. And oftentimes a correctional officer role would be a good position to get started with and even make a career out of.
So is that a stepping stone job in law enforcement?
It can be for some. It can also be a career decision for others. There's specialty roles within corrections, there's supervision positions and corrections, and no question, you can make a career out of it. But we've also had several corrections officers come over to the patrol side of the house, and now they serve in deputy sheriff roles and in various positions. And it's a great start, because they've got a background with knowing how to talk to people and treat people with respect, and you're going to have to do that out in the field, just like they had to do in corrections.
There have been a lot of officers and even some law enforcement leaders in the community, and really beyond that, that have left law enforcement or retired earlier than maybe they would have in the last few years after changes were implemented at the state level regarding Pretrial Fairness and the Safe-T Act overall. How would you say officer morale is these days?
I actually think it's very high. I think you have a very dedicated group of professionals that truly desire to do this job the correct way and for the right reasons. And I commend everyone who has stayed and remained in this line of work. 2020 was a challenging time to be a law enforcement officer, and therefore, I think that the members that have stayed truly have what I would call a calling to do this line of work, and I think that they do it for the right reasons.
How would you describe your management style? How are you similar or different than the current sheriff?
I think Sheriff Lane has done a great job, and I think we do maybe have different styles in terms of how we would approach things, but ultimately, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the role that he's done and the accomplishments that he's made, and the processes that he's put into place. So, I'm very much looking forward to ... In fact, I see my focus as a continuation of his efforts. He's been phenomenal in terms of succession planning and helping prepare me for the role.
In your initial announcement about running for sheriff, you talked about partnering with McLean County Board for one thing, and also on their mental health strategies. Starting with the county board, how do you see your role in working with them as they are an elected body. You too are elected.
First of all, it starts with great open communication. I think Sheriff Lane has done a wonderful job at that, and I would want to keep fostering that environment. I think that when it comes down to it, I'm not a politician. I'm a police officer that needs to know how and understand when working with the political process. So, I want to take politics out of it and have open dialogue with everyone, regardless of a political affiliation, and work toward the same goal of doing the right thing for the right reasons.
Now working with the county board on mental health strategies, what would you like to see done, improved, done differently or staying the course?
Certainly staying the course. We have a lot of mental health services that we offer in the jail, and want to make sure that we protect those services that are offered. A significant portion of the jail population has some sort of mental health concern. So that's a pivotal and critical need.
How effective do you feel that the mental health strategies have been so far in reducing crime and also providing those who have had interaction with the sheriff's office the help they need?
In some cases, yes, the law enforcement is going to be the first ones called to that scene, and we want to have the correct training and know how to handle those situations and get them and point them to the right resources. But ultimately, and hopefully, a lot of the cases, it's not actually a law enforcement matter, and we're blessed to have good partnerships with PATH Crisis Center and several different agencies in our area that we can help refer those individuals to. So ideally, in a perfect world, they're not coming to the jail, right? They're not committing a criminal offense.
