The Jersey County, M.O. Sheriff's Department is seeking to replace its overcrowded jail with a new facility that could cost as much as $4.5 million.
If the County Board approves the proposal on Oct. 14, the sheriff's department will embark on the first stage of the project, commissioning designs from architects at a cost of about $15,000, Sheriff Paul Cunningham said.
The current facility, built in 1985, has room for 16 inmates but houses an average of 25 prisoners per day due to a steady increase in arrests in recent years. The new jail would likely contain room for about 85 inmates, enough to see the county through a decade of continued growth, architects say.
At a cost of about $50,000 per cell, the jail would cost $4 million to $4.5 million in taxpayer money, unless Cunningham gets a state or federal grant to cover part of the cost. This year, neither Illinois nor the federal government has funds available for the project, but a grant covering as much as half the cost of the project is possible in the future, Cunningham said.
If the board approves the project, the new jail could be done within two years. But taxpayers would be feeling the financial effects of the project for many years to come. Even with a $2 million state grant, the county would need to finance most of the remaining cost with bonds, Cunningham said. And that would take years to pay off.
Still, Cunningham thinks the cost is worth it in the long run.
The result is fewer arrests and harm to the whole community because officers are tied up ferrying prisoners to the jails in Macoupin, Madison and Greene counties, he said.
Cunningham's philosophy toward incarceration has come under attack from people who think he is too quick to imprison petty criminals. He acknowledged that even if the County Board approved his proposal, some community members would probably question his motives for building a larger jail.
Most of the arrests in Jersey County are drug-related, while the remainder are due to domestic violence or driving under the influence. The new facility would not house juveniles, who would continue to be transported to facilities in Edwardsville and Quincy, Ill., Cunningham said.
County Board member Carl Meisner said he thought Cunningham's proposal would pass, based on the interest the board's Buildings and Grounds Committee showed at a preliminary presentation.