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Boone County sheriff honors DUI enforcement team, reports rising jail population and recent fatalities
Summary
Sheriff of Boone County recognized four deputies for 2024 DUI enforcement awards, said the county ranked near the top statewide on DUI arrests per officer, introduced a new K-9, and reported a rise in average daily jail population and recent traffic fatalities.
Boone County Sheriff Kirk recognized four deputies on Jan. 8 for outstanding 2024 DUI enforcement and presented certificates from the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists to Robert Thomas Pester, Thomas Wagner, Shane Laga and Wyatt Sabine. "By awarding a certificate of appreciation in recognition of these life saving efforts," the sheriff said, the department was being honored for its arrests and enforcement work.
The sheriff told the county committee that, among 102 Illinois counties included in the AIM review, "Boone County ranked number 6 in the total DUIs" and—by one measure of arrests per officer—was ranked first (and in another phrasing he said second). He described the county's per-officer rate as notable: "Out of the 102 counties, Boone County, 3.28... the DUI arrest rate per officer... was number 1." The transcript does not supply the methodology behind the ranking; the sheriff said the AIM list included more than 700 agencies and compared arrest counts against agency officer counts.
The sheriff also introduced a new K-9, "Doug," and his handler, Bobby. Doug graduated several months ago and, the sheriff said, "came from Holland, Germany" and completed an eight-week training cycle with his handler. "They're getting a lot of training in on our own time to make them better," Bobby said during the presentation.
On corrections operations, the sheriff reported rising daily population figures: "For December, it was 89 in 2025. It was 60 in December 2024. Year to date, the average population for 2025 was 75." He noted funding and procurement items related to the jail, including that the meals contract expires Feb. 28 and that the department had solicited two bids and was seeking a third.
The presentation closed with the sheriff inviting questions and thanking the deputies. The committee did not take a formal vote on the presentation items; follow-up questions were directed to staff for details on procurements and staffing.
