Thirteenth Circuit committee reviews probation caseloads, county bills and staffing; DHS letter cites continuity of state grants

At its Oct. 20, 2025, Thirteenth Circuit committee meeting, members reviewed juvenile and adult probation caseloads for LaSalle, Bureau and Grundy counties, approved routine county bills for September and discussed staffing vacancies and a letter from the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) that said state-administered grants were expected to continue despite a potential federal shutdown.

The committee heard detailed probation statistics from a department staff member identified as Susan. Juvenile active caseloads reported for September 2025 were: LaSalle County 100 active and 7 administrative cases; Bureau County 19 active and 1 administrative; and Grundy County 12 active and 1 administrative, for a circuit total of 131 active and 9 administrative juvenile cases (140 total on juvenile probation).

Adult probation figures for September 2025 included fee orders and collections by county. LaSalle County probation fees ordered for the month were $10,200 (ordered to date $84,750; collected $4,902; collected to date $47,925.05). Bureau County ordered $1,500 (ordered to date $15,450; collected $649.94; collected to date $9,928.94). Grundy County ordered $6,250 (ordered to date $67,343; collected $560; collected to date $17,418.29). The circuit total ordered for the month was $17,950 (ordered to date $167,543; collected $6,101.94), with total collected to date for the circuit given as $75,272.28.

On caseload numbers, staff reported adult active caseloads of 482 in LaSalle (288 administrative), 124 active in Bureau (41 administrative) and 142 active in Grundy (189 administrative). The committee was told the circuit had 748 active adult caseloads, 518 administrative caseloads and 1,266 people on probation across the circuit.

Susan also noted a Bureau County account detail: for eight independent children there was a fee of $2,250 in September, leaving an account balance of $239,082.09. She reported that LaSalle County had two juveniles in residential placements.

Committee members were informed that McLean County’s juvenile detention center rate will be $250 per day beginning in 2026; that notification was included in the meeting packet. Committee discussion noted the upward pressure on detention and other operating costs, with one member saying rising costs were “inevitable” given broader energy and cost trends.

The committee reviewed routine bills submitted for September. LaSalle County’s bills totaled $7,784.18 and included items such as drug-testing supplies, software maintenance ($1,773), mental-health evaluations ($2,500), cell phones, conference registration and office supplies. Bureau County’s September bills totaled $1,538.98, listing mileage, conference registration, cell phone, client counseling, offender-specific testing and a copier contract. Grundy County’s bills totaled $1,611.85 and included office supplies, gas, drug testing and a cell phone reimbursement to LaSalle County.

The meeting packet also contained a letter from the Illinois Department of Human Services. According to the chair’s summary of the letter, DHS said it was working to keep federal benefits and state-administered grants flowing amid federal budget uncertainty; the chair mentioned that many clients receive SNAP, Medicaid and WIC benefits and that DHS was not, at the time of the letter, planning changes to those programs. The letter was shared as informational; no formal action was taken on DHS filings.

On staffing, Susan reported three current vacancies in the department: one position in the problem-solving court, one juvenile position and one adult position in Bureau County. She said the department is interviewing candidates, completing criminal-history checks and expects hires to be presented to the chief judge for final approval. The timeline given for filling vacancies was typically “within a month to six weeks, maybe two months tops.” A retirement was noted as pending in the coming week.

The committee made routine approvals by voice vote during the meeting. Motions to approve the previous meeting minutes, to accept the department reports and to accept the September bills for payment were each called, seconded and carried on voice vote. The meeting adjourned; the committee set its next meeting for Nov. 12, 2025. The chair extended condolences to Board Chairman Jensen on the recent death of his mother.

Votes at a glance - Motion to approve minutes from the previous meeting: approved (voice vote; no opposition recorded). - Motion to accept department reports: approved (voice vote; no opposition recorded). - Motion to accept September bills for payment: approved (voice vote; no opposition recorded). - Motion to adjourn: approved (voice vote).

Meeting context: the department report segment covered statistics, billing and staffing updates and lasted the bulk of the meeting’s substantive time; there were no contested policy votes or ordinances on the agenda.