McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Imposes More Costly Way for Humanitarians to Help Inmates and Detainees
An October 26th memo from Sheriff Keith Nygren’s Chief of Corrections Daniel Sedlock announces the imposition of new, higher cost requirements for those wanting to help inmates and detainees financially.
Crystal Laker Dave Warren has been a 10-year, regular visitor and helper of those behind bars. His jail ministry has regularly written checks so the Sheriff’s Department can buy such personal items as soap, shampoo, lotion, and snacks that fit their cultural diet.
“Under the contract, Sheriff Nygren receives a (portion of the purchase price-original word redacted) from the vendor for all (the approximately $15,000 of) commissary purchases…a source of income for our County Jail,” he wrote one one Crystal Lake donor.
“That revenue stream will disappear if we can’t present a lump check.”
The memo that you can see below(click to enlarge) will require such humanitarian people to pay the cost of a money order or a $5 transaction fee for each prisoner or detainee. The typical amount given each person behind bars is $10.
“It effectively removes the humanitarian aid portion of our ministry leaving only pastoral care,” Warren wrote John Morrison, Assistant Secretary of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“It is impractical for us to buy postal money orders for each destitute refugee/detainee, then address an envelope, and pay 44 cents to mail to each of them. That would be about 1500 money orders, stamps and envelopes annually!”
“For the last 10 or 11 years, we simply list(ed) each detainee’s number and name on lined paper. After each visit, we give the lobby officer this list and our Jail Ministry check made out to McHenry County Jail, i.e., $10 for each person listed,” he wrote a donor.
“For some time now, as a courtesy, we have allowed program volunteers to being in single checks to be distributed to multiple inmate/detainees housed at the McHenry County Jail.
“Unfortunately, because of an ever increasing population as well as a growing number of organizations requesting to place funds on a detainee’s account, this practice has become administratively burdensome for our staff.
“In addition, we continue to be faced with accreditation standards and regulations requiring a strict accounting of these funds and how they are distributed.”
Sedlock announces that the new, more expensive procedures will start on November 1st, five days after the issuance of the memo.
“We surely appreciate the services and support you provide to the inmate/detainees in our custody. We apologize for the inconvenience we know that this will cause some of your, but trust that you will understand our need to make these changes,” Sedlock concludes.
The memo disturbed Crystal Laker Dave Warren, a member of a Catholic religious lay order about which you can read more here and active in the Jail Ministry of McHenry County.
Besides his letter to the Assistant Secretary of ICE, the Crystal Lake resident has written others involved in the ministry, including a Cary pastor thaking him for “your tithe of $528.27.”
He notes, “There are no administrative costs in this ministry. Even our Home State Bank checking account is free. Be assured that your entire donation to goes directly to recently arrived, destitute detainees held in McHenry County Jail.”
It notes that McHenry County gets $90 per night to house the prisoners.
The “all of your contribution goes to the mission” part of the thank you letter seems destined to be re-written.
In the closing part of his letter, Warren points out that House Bill 4613 “was passed to secure more access time in jails that warehouse ICE detainees. As a result, access for our ministry visits to McHenry County Jail has been expanded from three people to at least five, our available visiting time has almost doubled from one shift to two shifts, and the days have been doubled from bi-monthly to bi-weekly, i.e., from two to four visits each month. We are still restricted from going into the cell blocks as we were allowed to do for many years previously.”
No local official likes being forced by the General Assembly to do something he doesn’t want to. That’s for sure.
