McLean County Justice Committee met Jan. 4.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Justice Committee of the McLean County Board met at 4:30 p.m. in Room 400 of the Government Center, 115 E. Washington Street, Bloomington, Illinois.
Members Present: Chairman Erickson, Members Randall L. Martin, George Wendt, Susan Schafer, Sharon Chung, Benjamin Webb and Hannah Beer
Members Absent: None
Other County Board
Members Present None
Staff Present: Cassy Taylor, County Administrator; Cathy Dreyer, Assistant County Administrator; Julie Morlock, Recording Secretary;
Samantha Vazquez, Assistant State’s Attorney – Civil Division
Department Heads/Elected Officials Present: Molly Evans, Children’s Advocacy Center Director; Donald Knapp, State’s Attorney; Ron Lewis, Public Defender
Others Present: None
Chairman Erickson called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum.
Chairman Erickson presented the Justice Committee December 7, 2021 regular meeting minutes for approval.
Motion by Chung/Wendt to approve the Justice Committee December 7, 2021 regular meeting minutes
Motion Carried.
Chairman Erickson confirmed with Cassy Taylor there were no members of the public or employees to appear.
Chairman Erickson noted Kathy Yoder, County Coroner was not present, but her report was in the packet. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions for the Coroner; hearing none, he moved to the next item on the agenda.
Don Knapp, McLean County State’s Attorney presented for action a request to approve an Amendment to the Grant Agreement between the State of Illinois, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and the County of McLean (VOCA). Mr. Knapp noted this was a six month extension on a grant they have had for several years.
Motion by Schafer/Martin to recommend approval of an Amendment to the Grant Agreement between the State of Illinois, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and the County of McLean (VOCA).
Motion Carried.
Mr. Knapp presented for action a request to approve a Resolution to provide services to McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office by the Office of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor. Mr. Knapp noted this is an annual contract to handle all criminal and some civil appeals as well as cases with conflicts. He noted that if they did not have this they would need an additional 3-4 people in his office to help cover this load. He also noted the amount has been reduced by $1,000. Mr. Erickson asked what funds cover. Mr. Knapp indicated funds cover the costs of handling cases.
Motion by Chung/Beer to recommend approval of a Resolution to provide services to McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office by the Office of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor.
Motion Carried.
Mr. Knapp presented his monthly reports to the Committee. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any further questions regarding Mr. Knapp’s reports; hearing none, he thanked him.
Chairman Erickson indicated that Mr. Mike Donovan, Court Services Director was not present, but his reports were in the packet. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions on the Court Services report; hearing none, he moved to the next item on the agenda.
Chairman Erickson indicated that Mr. Don Everhart, McLean County Circuit Clerk was not present but his monthly reports to the Committee were in the packet. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions; hearing none, he moved on to the next item on the agenda.
Mr. Ron Lewis, Public Defender presented his monthly report to the Committee. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions for Mr. Lewis; hearing none, he thanked him.
Molly Evans, Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) presented a request to approve an Amendment to the Grant Agreement between the Illinois Association of Court Appointed Special Advocates and CASA of McLean County. She indicated this is an amendment for an extension through June 30, 2022. She also noted this pay for a contractual liaison in the CASA program.
Motion by Martin/Webb to recommend approval of an Amendment to the Grant Agreement between the Illinois Association of Court Appointed Special Advocates and CASA of McLean County.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Evans presented for action a request to approve a contract between the County of McLean and Kathryn Gillespie as Educational Liaison for the McLean County CASA Program.
Motion by Webb/Beer to recommend approval of a contract between the County of McLean and Kathryn Gillespie as Educational Liaison for the McLean County CASA Program.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Evans presented her monthly report to the Committee. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions on the report; hearing none, he thanked her.
Chairman Erickson noted Mr. Will Scanlon, Circuit Court was not present and presented on his behalf a request to approve an Amendment to the Neutral Site Custody Exchange and Supervised Visitation Center Agreement.
Motion by Chung/Schafer to recommend approval of an Amendment to the Neutral Site Custody Exchange and Supervised Visitation Center Agreement.
Motion Carried.
Chairman Erickson presented on behalf of Jon Sandage, Sheriff a request to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement between the State of Illinois, Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the County of McLean. Mr. Sandage indicated this is an annual grant to cover EMA expenses.
Motion by Wendt/Schafer to recommend approval of an Intergovernmental Agreement between the State of Illinois, Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the County of McLean.
Motion Carried.
Chairman Erickson presented on behalf of Mr. Sandage a request to approve a County Sheriff Support Program Financial Support Conditions and Certification. Mr. Sandage indicated this was reimbursement for inmates the County housed during the height of COVID that should have been transferred to IDOC. Mr. Sandage indicated the amount is about half of the amount spent and the agreement was given without any options and sent with a short turn around deadline during the holidays. Ms. Chung asked if there was any chance of getting additional reimbursement in the future. Mr. Sandage indicated they had asked the State if they could add language about seeking or receiving future reimbursement and was told the State did not want that added to the contract. Ms. Chung asked if they had an estimated time when the State would be providing reimbursement. Mr. Sandage stated they had been told it would be about 60-90 days. Ms. Chung stated she hoped he would be able to recover more expenses.
Motion by Schafer/Webb to recommend approval of a County Sheriff Support Program Financial Support Conditions and Certification
Motion Carried. Member Webb abstained.
Chairman Erickson presented on behalf of Mr. Sandage a request to approve a Non Congregate Sheltering Reimbursement Agreement between Emergency Management Agency and Illinois State University. Mr. Sandage indicated would be a pass-through grant.
Motion by Wendt/Chung to recommend approval of a Non-Congregate Sheltering Reimbursement Agreement between Emergency Management Agency and Illinois State University.
Motion Carried. Member Webb abstained.
Mr. Sandage presented his monthly report. He noted there had been positive COVID results in jail and went over numbers of cases and current cases of inmates and staff. He thanked medical staff for their assistance during the outbreak. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions, hearing none, he thanked him.
Ms. Cassy Taylor, County Administrator indicated she had no items for action, but asked Mr. Knapp to come back up to the table to discuss staff shortage and possible solutions. Mr. Knapp indicated January 3rd was first time full staff since last March but as of 14th attorneys will be leaving. He stated this is not unique to McLean county and provided examples of other counties who are short staff. He went over job classifications and possible ways to make adjustments that would give them leverage to retain staff. Ms. Schafer asked if passage of bar rate was still affecting recruitment. Mr. Knapp indicated less than 50% passed in February but he was not sure if numbers overall were down for those taking the bar exam. He stated McLean County only swore in 3. Mr. Erickson asked if there had been changes in bar exam that has caused a reduction in law school attendance. Mr. Knapp stated there were probably multiple reasons for decrease in bar passage including online learning, grade point average, how people study and changes to date of test. Ms. Chung asked where they recruit attorneys from. Mr. Knapp stated they try to advertise at law schools and bar newsletters. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any other comments or questions; hearing none, he moved to the payment of the bills.
Chairman Erickson presented bills for review and approval as transmitted by the County Auditor with a prepaid and fund total of $420,971.49.
Motion by Chung/Beer to approve the Justice Committee bills as presented.
Motion Carried.
Chairman Erickson stated there was no other business for the Justice Committee to consider and adjourned the meeting at 5:01 p.m.
https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8554
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