An area county sheriff was pleased with the results of a recent lawsuit against the Pritzker Administration. In a post to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office Facebook Page yesterday, Sheriff Rob McMillen expressed his thoughts about the recent win by the Illinois Sheriff’s Association in Logan County Court that allows prisoners to be transferred into the Illinois Department of Corrections from county jails.
McMillen said that the Greene County Jail was able to transfer out 5 inmates to IDOC facilities yesterday, bringing their jail population down to 16. McMillen said it was the first time in 5 months that the county jail had been below capacity level.
McMillen says that according to the current conditions within IDOC allowing early releases and paroling inmates at the completion of their sentence that the state facilities are better equipped to handle the prison populations than local county jails are. McMillen said the 5 inmates that were allowed to transfer into IDOC yesterday had been in the county’s custody for over 4 months after sentencing.
McMillen said he was glad to have the prisoners taken by IDOC because he fears an appeal by the governor’s office will halt further intakes. He anticipates several more inmates at the jail in Carrollton will be sentenced in the coming weeks as the local circuit court continues to operate at a full work load.
McMillen also said that he does not blame IDOC for the mandate and that the intake process for the inmates yesterday went smooth and was very thorough and professional. McMillen expressed his full support for ISA and their continued efforts to advocate for county sheriffs’ offices in the matter.