New sheriff's building?

Is a new sheriff's office building needed?

It wasn't that long ago that millions of dollars were spent to increase capacity in the current building.

From the website of the incumbent sheriff comes the following point from his "Vision & Goals" section.

"The second initiative we are currently working on and hope to complete during the next four years is the construction of a new public safety building for the Sheriff's Department. Due to the expansion of our court system in McHenry County, it will be necessary for the Sheriff's Offices to relocate nearby on the courthouse campus. A feasibility study to meet the needs of public safety has already been completed and preliminary architectural and engineering studies have determined square foot requirements and operational proximity needs. The McHenry County Board has determined this process to be a priority, and I believe we would have broken ground already had we not suffered the economic downturn we now find ourselves in."

This must be a goal, not a vision, since the sheriff's department or the County has already expended probably-considerable funds for a feasibility study and preliminary studies.

Is the charge to the engineering firm, "Make it feasible; I want a new building"? Why have monies already been spent? Has the County Board already approved the concept of a new building?

On McHenry County Blog (www.mchenrycountyblog.com) Cal Skinner reports a $34 meeting expense by County Board President Ken Koehler for a "public safety building meeting". It probably was a meal (Board members are apparently not allowed to spend less than $30-35 on a meal; look at all the meal expenses that Cal reports by just a few of the Board members.)

Of note is County Board member Barb Wheeler's comment in today's Northwest Herald article about plans by the Mental Health Board to expand its building in Crystal Lake. Buried at the end of the article Wheeler said that “…the County Board’s building plans, such as new buildings for the sheriff’s office and health department, had been put on hold in the recession.”

Forward-thinking and advance planning is important, and buildings don't go up overnight. But part of overall thinking is big-picture thinking that takes in the whole scene. The State's prisons are full. Prisons across the country are bursting at the seams with too many inmates. Our jail is a huge revenue-generator. McHenry County is in the jail "business." Is this what residents, voters and taxpayers want?

How much longer can we afford to have the highest incarceration rate in the world?