ROCK ISLAND -- Rock Island County likely will spend $1 million this year sending juveniles out of the area for pre-trial detention. Those resources would be better spent on the operation of a local facility, county officials agree.
But there is simply not enough money to build and operate such a facility, they say.
The Juvenile Justice Institute of Illinois, or JJI, contends in a recent report, however, that millions are saved and public safety is significantly improved when communities invest in locally based alternatives for juvenile offenders, as opposed to building more detention centers.
"We've over-built detention centers in Illinois. The bottom line is there are better alternatives that have better outcomes for kids and community safety," JJI policy advocate Mary Reynolds said.
Most Rock Island County juveniles are sent to Mary Davis Home in Galesburg for pre-trial detention. The county has spent about $761,761 on juvenile detention services so far this year, said county auditor Diana Robinson.
She predicts $1 million will be spent by year's end. That's paying anywhere from $100 to $150 a day per inmate, Rock Island County Board Chairman Jim Bohnsack said.
If Mary Davis Home is full, youths are sent to Peoria, Normal or McLean County. They go to Scott County's juvenile facility in Davenport when space is available. There are no options any closer to Rock Island County, the largest county in the 14th Judicial District.
"We need something closer," County Board member Virgil Mayberry said. "What we need is a facility close enough that it does not put a hardship on the kids and their families."
