Lee County Sheriff Clay told the finance committee that a suspect captured in the county was released under provisions of the Illinois SAFE-T Act and later fled the region; he said federal marshals later located the suspect in Florida. The account prompted renewed committee discussion about staffing, overtime and the county jail's future costs.

Sheriff Clay described the sequence: deputies arrested a person after a vehicle pursuit; the suspect was charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon and fleeing to elude but was released the next day under the SAFE-T Act. Clay said the person was later linked to a shooting of his daughter and was captured days afterward by the U.S. Marshals in Florida. "So another incident where the safety act failed to provide safety," Clay said.

Committee members used the episode to press for more local authority to hold dangerous suspects. Committee chair Jason Anderson urged state lawmakers to "give you guys the tools to be able to hold people that need to be held," reflecting the sheriff's concern about pretrial release rules.

The committee also reviewed jail and public-safety finances. Treasurer Reid Acree told the committee staff projects the public-safety fund will retain roughly $250,000 this year as part of a multi-year plan to meet a balloon bond payment scheduled in 2029 of about $1,800,000. He noted one remaining interfund loan of $615,000 on the county books.

Sheriff and members discussed overtime and staffing numbers as drivers of jail and patrol costs. Clay said the corrections division currently has 16 correctional deputies and minimum staffing for the floor is three (two on the floor and one in the control room). He reported patrol staffing as 23 certified law-enforcement personnel including the sheriff; neighboring counties "are larger by a handful dozen" officers, he said. The county covers 729 square miles; Ogle County is 758 and Whiteside County 685 miles, numbers committee members used to compare coverage needs.

On overtime, committee members discussed current projections in the sheriff's fund. Acree said gross overtime projections appear near $290,000 with about $50,000 of that historically reimbursed by grants (for traffic enforcement, events or state reimbursements), leaving a net around $250,000 in the draft. Sheriff and board members estimated that adding one or two deputies might reduce overtime by roughly $40,000, but results are variable because arrests, court testimony and unplanned incidents influence overtime.

Members asked for further analysis of the jail's operating cost and whether regional consolidation or "farming out" inmates to neighboring counties would save money after transport and statutory obligations are considered. Treasury staff said the countycould produce a detailed breakdown if the committee wanted one, but that the current accounting and vendor classifications would require work to isolate purely jail operating costs.

No formal staffing changes were adopted; the discussion framed budget decisions in the draft and requested additional reporting on the public-safety fund schedule and a possible study of shared services or regional consolidation.