LaSalle County officials weigh keeping jail medical services with contractor vs. building in-house unit

LaSalle County jail administrator Jason Edgecomb told the county Insurance Trust Committee on Aug. 18 that the county is reviewing whether to continue contracting jail medical services or hire its own medical staff, citing contract terms, staffing challenges and potential liability. Edgecomb said the current contractor proposed a 3.1% contract increase under a CPI clause and that the county’s contract allows adjustments between 1% and 5% depending on CPI. "They sent the thing at a 3.1 CPI," Edgecomb said.

The committee was told Edgecomb is gathering cost estimates for an in-house program, including salary ranges he observed for full‑time nurses. He said full‑time nurses on the contractor payroll were paid between $88,000 and $97,000 in base salary and that, when benefits are included, the county would face substantially higher personnel costs if it hired comparable staff directly: "So you're at 450,000 just for 3 of the employees," Edgecomb said, describing a rough calculation for three nursing positions.

Committee members and outside advisers cautioned that an in‑house medical…