Answer to Winnebago County Jail population is simple math and a matter of law


Rockford, IL- I was struck by an article written by Mark Stevens of WTVO TV titled  Jail Population Has Winnebago County Leaders Looking at Courts which stated that “the Winnebago County Jail is slowly filling up... jeopardizing safety and costing taxpayers more money.  The problem... fewer cases are getting through the court system.  Law changes have made more crimes serious... but budget cuts have hurt their efficiency.  Their answer… bringing back Saturday court or maybe work a little extra overtime.

If the goal is to reduce the crowding and save money then the answers can not be those above because it is doing the same things over and over again, the exact same way but expecting a different result.  That is nothing more than a sign of insanity, especially since they just blow hundreds of dollars building a brand new facility.  What they need to do is make many of the crimes that people are sitting in jail awaiting their time in court for, a citation issued summons to appear or pay the fine before the court date.  Many of these offenses could be done away with quickly and easily without locking a body up until their court date.  This would not only ease jail population but create a fresh revenue stream.

There are some crimes that rate being held over for but driving on a suspended license isn’t one of them.  If proof is provided that the fine has been paid prior to the court date that is one less case that the judge has to hear and has to be scheduled.  It should be common knowledge that those who attempt to cheat the system will eventually get caught and that’s when the penal system can get their pound of flesh but until then prison population will not be an issue.

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