McHenry County Blog

Cook County Jail is finally routinely testing new prisoners for HIV.

More than 20 years ago, State Rep. Penny Pullen was pushing for inmates to be tested for HIV upon incarceration.

She was even willing to settle for testing upon release.

Why?

In the hope that those in prison might be less likely to infect others if they knew they were infected.

That was in the years when AIDS activists seemed to think the virus should have more civil rights than humans.

Well, now the Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Cook County Jail is routinely testing those on the way in.

Why?

Sheriff’s Department officials are “hoping to put a dent in the number of people who have the virus but don’t know it.”

That’s what the Chicago Tribune reports.

State prisons are next, the article says.

And, echoing the argument I made in the 1990′s, “Experts say correctional facilities have been a key battleground in the fight against HIV.”

Better late than never, I guess.

But think how many HIV infections could have been prevented if people like Illinois Department of Corrections Director Howard Peters had had the courage to follow the facts in the mid-1990′s, rather than political correctness.

And some wonder why I think government is incompetent.

Menard Correctional Center

State Rep. Emily McAsey, a Democrat from Lockport, thought she had a good idea.

And what does a relatively new legislator do with a new idea…especially if you are a lawyer, as McAsey is?

You have it drafted into a bill.

McAsey’s bill would increase the inmate co-pay for non-emergency medical visits from $2 go $5 a visit.

$336,000 extra money coming in from prisoners is the claim.

Second-term State Rep. Emily McAsey

But wait.

Might not the higher co-pay have a significant affect on utilization?

When a co-pay of $2 was imposed, how much less medical service was rendered?

If significant, did the costs for the outside medical providers decrease proportionately?

$2 represented 20% or a prisoner’s monthly income, one inmate has let me know.

It seems conceivable that more than doubling the co-pay will cut utilization even more.

So, the higher co-pay might lead to the delivery of significantly lower amounts of medical care.

If so, shouldn’t the outside vendor be paid significantly less?

Old McHenry County Courthouse on the Woodstock Square.

It used to be that “trustees” used to clean the old Courthouse. That was under Sheriff John Carroll, who served while I was Country Treasurer.

After the courthouse closed, trusted inmates would be sweeping the floors and generally cleaning up.

That was when the Sheriff’s wife cooked the meals, something of a perk I assume. She must have made something from such work.

Now Sheriff Keith Nygren is touting how his department is going to teach inmates how to be cooks. The press release is below:

Sheriff’s Office Corrections Facility will begin 11/1 offering new Food Prep (IN2WORK) program to sentenced Inmates

Sheriff Keith Nygren has announced that beginning November 1, 2010 the McHenry County Correctional Facility will offer a new, unique vocational training program called IN2WORK (I2W).

I2W has been developed and is being taught by the Correctional Facility’s foodservice provider ARAMARK. The training provides hands-on and classroom training in proper food preparation skills.

I2W is a 12 week program that ARAMARK Correctional Services created to help its clients provide non-violent offenders with valuable training and work experience in a commercial kitchen.

McHenry County Jail.

There are three phases to this program which cover

• Kitchen Basics,
• Retail Basics, and
• ServSafe.

After successful completion of coursework and all exams, participants in this program will receive ARAMARK and ServSafe certifications.

ARAMARK Correctional Services created IN2WORK to address clients’ concern about dwindling funding for vocational training and leverage its expertise in preparing healthy and nutritious meals within a commercial kitchen.

Currently there are 68 I2W programs nationally with over 1,000 inmates currently enrolled.

Over the course of 12 weeks, IN2WORK Instructor and ARAMARK Food Service Director

Shawn King will provide classroom instruction and supervise the students as they gain practical and applicable work experience helping prepare the 1,500 meals served daily at the Corrections Facility.

Those inmates that would like to participate in the I2W program will apply and take part in a selection process.

The first program in the McHenry County Correctional facility expects to have between 2 and 4 participants.

The I2W program will provide valuable skills and certification for inmates to aid them in obtaining rewarding careers in the future.

The Sheriff’s Office recognizes the value of this program and the benefit I2W will have in improving the ability of the individual inmate to turn those skills into gainful employment in the food service industry.

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The program is scheduled to start the day before the election. It will be interesting to see if either of the Heralds run a story with photo about the program the day before or the day of the election.

It's a small, costly program, but it keeps these woman from coming back to prison.

The Illinois Department of Corrections generally doesn’t.

It seems to be it should be renamed the Illinois Prison System or something more descriptive of its role of keeping crooks off the street.

Now comes along a program that so far is providing successful.

I remember it’s being championed by now-Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky while she was sitting across the aisle from me in the Illinois House.

That’s the really liberal Schakowsky.

But even liberals have some good ideas once in a while.

Allowing pregnant women to keep their children they bear while in prison seems to have been one of them.

This Chicago Sun-Times article by Huey Freeman tells of how a special unit in the Decatur Correctional Center gives new mothers a private room and six weeks without a work assignment after their baby is born.

“Of the 25 offenders that have gone through the program, non, zero, have returned to this prison,”

DOC Director Michael Randle says in the article.