McLean County’s jail population appears to be leveling off after a steady rise in the number of detainees over the past few years, though it's too early to say it's a trend.
Daily average population numbers at McLean County jail crept back up since the 2023 Pretrial Fairness Act removed cash bail in Illinois. Two groups contributing to the increase, unrelated to pretrial detention, have started to drop.
Sheriff Matt Lane previously told WGLT those awaiting transfers to prison or a mental health facility were adding to elevated numbers in the jail. But in his most recent report to the County Board’s Justice Committee Wednesday, Lane said numbers in both populations have leveled off.
The jail currently has seven people awaiting transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections [DOC]. Lane said four of the seven are people who are returning to prison for parole violations.
“We’ve really been able to keep up with unloading inmates to DOC lately,” he said. “So, that’s a good sign.”
Ten of the jail’s approximately 220 detainees in March are needing coordination with the Illinois Department of Human Services [DHS], which operates secure mental and behavioral health care facilities. Lane said one person has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, four have been deemed unfit to stand trial and five defendants are waiting for fitness evaluations.
“Those are lower numbers than we’ve seen in awhile,” Lane said. “Usually I have a minimum of 12 DHS. And usually most of those are already diagnosed and sent to the department that we’re waiting for.
“It’s getting a little bit better right now. I don’t know if that will last,” he said.
A backlog in transferring people out of the jail into secure mental health facilities is outside McLean County’s control. Lane said the last update from DHS indicated there are about 300 people on their waitlist.
“And there’s not enough beds,” he said.
Updated equipment
Lane said the jail is also set to complete a project this week enabling staff to dim the lights in cells located in the jail’s booking area.
“The worst of the mental health patients that we house are in the booking area,” he said. “And the lights were either on or off.”
The Justice Committee also approved a request for funding to upgrade the office’s fingerprinting system, which Lane said was running on Windows 10 and no longer supported.
Lane said they selected a new machine made by ID Networks, which aligns with systems in Tazewell and Woodford Counties.
