Ill. City to Make Its Jail Safer for Inmates

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By Daily Herald

Published: 07/16/2003

An upcoming $1.3 million renovation to the Schaumburg Police Department's jail is intended to make the public safety building even safer by reducing opportunities for suspects to commit suicide while in custody.
While only three or four suicides have occurred since the building at 1000 W. Schaumburg Road opened in 1976, the proposed changes should make such incidents virtually impossible, Director of Police Richard Casler said.
'The facility is about 25 years old,' he said. 'It came with the original building. We're trying to improve the safety of the facility. We want to take advantage of new breakthroughs in technology.'
Among the changes will be: the replacement of bars with solid doors, lighting improvements and installation of state-of-the-art video surveillance.
Even subtle changes, such as the way bunks are attached to the walls, demonstrate greater know-how acquired by law enforcement agencies over the past quarter century, Casler said.
Along with improvements to the quality of cells, the booking area for newly charged suspects will be renovated to make it safer and easier to use for the police officers, he added.
The first step of the approximately nine-month process was completed Tuesday night when the village board unanimously approved a $93,250 contract for a design from Sente, Rubel, Bosman, Lee Architects in Northbrook.
The board waived the normal bidding process for the contract due to the firm's familiarity with the building. The firm designed the expansion of the department's communications area, which was completed in spring.
Trustee Tom Dailly said this familiarity would save time and money.
Preparation of the designs will take several months and then must be approved by the Illinois Department of Corrections before construction can begin, Casler said.
The construction process is expected to take about three months.
Casler will meet with representatives of the Cook County Circuit Court and chiefs of neighboring police departments to make arrangements for temporary jail space during the renovation.
The project will not increase the size of the jail area, which can hold 18 prisoners.

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