July 26, 2024
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La Salle County Jail taking overflow from McLean County

Up to 60 inmates await transfer from Bloomington-Normal to Ottawa

By Tom Collins

There was a big influx of inmates at La Salle County Jail between Monday and Tuesday. Superintendent Jason Edgcomb, seen in this file photo, says not to worry. Edgcomb reported Tuesday, March 28, 2023, that the newcomers -- there will be a total of 60 -- are being transferred from McLean County, which is having a space crunch, to La Salle County, where there are spare beds.

Take a look at the website for La Salle County Jail and you might think the county is having a crime spree. There were 18 new admissions between Monday and Tuesday.

There is no crime spree and 12 of the new inmates face no charges in La Salle County. The dozen visitors are in Ottawa because the jail in McLean County is overcrowded and La Salle County had enough spare beds to temporarily house them.

“They (McLean officials) reached out to us a couple of weeks ago with an overflow problem,” said Jason Edgcomb, superintendent of La Salle County Jail, “and we agreed to take between 49 and 60 inmates.”

Edgcomb said the visitors, most from Bloomington-Normal, will stay in the Ottawa facility about two months. La Salle County will be paid $45 per inmate per day.

Even with the influx, however, La Salle County Jail will hover at average daily census.

“Our census has been under 100 inmates for a couple of weeks,” Edgcomb said. “It’s been trending down ever since COVID-19.”

La Salle County is, in fact, enjoying a lull in serious crime. Though felonies and DUIs surged in January – New Year’s parties stormed back after the pandemic – the county is currently on pace for 6% fewer felonies than in 2022.