WILL COUNTY, IL - Sheriff Paul Kaupas said this week that his department would need more employees--most of them correctional officers--for "barebones" staffing of the expanded Adult Detention Facility.

Chief Deputy David Van Dyke, who oversees security at the county jail, anticipates adding the new employees in three phases when a $50 million expansion is completed late next year or early in 2008.

Van Dyke estimated salary and benefits for six correctional lieutenants, six correctional sergeants and as many as 72 correctional officers would top $5.5 million. To offset costs, the sheriff's office proposes hiring nine civilian administrative clerks for a total salary-benefit cost of approximately $380,000. Van Dyke's presentation also anticipated as many as 17 other civilian employees.

Ninety-nine corrections officers, 16 corrections sergeants, 15 deputies and 32 civilian employees currently operate the facility.

Additional corrections officers are replacing the deputies, who are leaving to patrol the streets.

The expansion responds to crowded conditions at the 16-year-old "podular" jail in downtown Joliet. Designed to serve 320 prisoners, it currently accommodates nearly twice that number through "double-bunking" practices. The addition will enable the facility to accommodate nearly 930 inmates.

This week, Kaupas told a County Board committee that the hiring levels are lower than those recommended by a consultant.