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.


Comments

McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Imposes More Costly Way for Humanitarians to Help Inmates and Detainees — 3 Comments

  1. I was held as ‘an illegal alien’ in this jail. We watched from the tiny windows, as the fat sheriffs officers took all of the ‘other commissary items’ and put them in the trunks of their cars, as the inmates lined up to get their stuff, and there was always something missing….thse people would take food from the starving. 18 yr olds gone completely gray, teeth and nails coming out…malnutrition and medical mistreatment along ‘soft torture’ – and then absolutely moronic guards…..
    Suddenly after 20 years of hard working, and taxpaying, you are starving – the sign on the wall states you should expect to lose at least 20Lb during your incarceration of ‘average 38 days’ – so i was held 108 days, I should be dead…but i am not and will go under oath to testify. I watched as mentally ill people were denied their meds, mine collected at the time of false arrest, could not be found while i was in this jail……the clothing we were given was covered in stains from human waste and blood, being a native english speaker, I complained and becuase in my former life I was an executive, I recognized Julie Myers, the Head of ICE at the time when she walked some visitors briefly through our section…..I told her I will never shut up about this stuff….and so they moved me and hid me and kept me awake and dumped me in the UK. Remember, my taxes for 20 years paid part of your kids college tuition….and there were americans born in america in here, no charges, just ‘errors’ by immigration…so realise, this could happen to you.

  2. Wonderfully written and eye opening. These types of this sare hidden because they affect a population that is routinely forgotten.

    Love that you bring Jesus to the jail.

    Try hard not to lose hope, for when we do we stop briing the Only Name that saves.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *