Sheriff: Pretrial Fairness Act tied to rising jail admissions and higher incarceration costs

Sheriff Ron Hain told the Kane County Committee of the Whole on Feb. 13 that the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) has driven a surge in jail admissions and daily population that is increasing county incarceration costs.

Hain said the county jail population averaged 550 in 2019 and fell before the PFA but has since rebounded to roughly 330–340 daily inmates in 2024–2025. He told commissioners that the higher average population will increase costs by roughly $2.5 million annually at current per‑inmate daily rates.

Why it matters: Jail populations and per‑inmate costs are a major line item in county budgets. Hain said some people who now cycle through the jail do so for brief stays tied to misunderstandings of pretrial conditions, not lengthy sentences, and that turnover creates administrative burdens and training needs.

Hain highlighted other operational impacts: expanded electronic‑monitoring programs (much cheaper per person than incarceration), additional records and warrants entry work (30–40 daily entries that may require hiring one or two civilian staff), and a required upgrade to the county’s body‑camera system. He said the sheriff’s office plans to move to Axon body cameras to better integrate evidence with the state's attorney’s office and to reduce equipment failures.

On forensics capacity, Hain said the sheriff, coroner and state's attorney have worked for two years to stand up a Kane County toxicology and forensics lab; construction will be funded by opioid‑settlement funds and not the general fund, he said. He also described increased mandate-driven training costs and the need for two sworn deputies plus contracted retired personnel to implement those programs.

Hain urged the board to consider the operational impacts of state law and recommended predictable funding streams to manage mandated costs.