Commission authorizes chair to sign DOJ grant application for jail upgrades tied to 287(g) participation

The Kane County Commission voted unanimously to allow the commission chair to sign a Department of Justice grant application and related certification documents so the county may apply for federal funds to upgrade aging jail systems and equipment.

Alan Aldridge and the sheriff told commissioners the application packages include projects to replace aging HVAC and environmental controls in the jail (presenters mentioned an estimate of roughly $600,000 for systems work) and requests for patrol vehicles and night‑vision goggles; presenters described the grant as 100% federal money with no local match. Alan said the document before the commission is a required certification page for the application.

The sheriff provided more detail about the county's participation in the 287(g) program with ICE, saying the county engages in the warrant‑service officer model (notification and limited processing assistance) rather than task‑force or full jail‑enforcement models. "If we book someone into jail that is illegal, we'd notify ICE that they're in our jail," the sheriff said, adding the model formalizes existing practices and can include limited additional processing steps in some cases.

Commissioners agreed the chair should be authorized to sign the application and added a clarification that the chair may sign for an award of up to $800,000 if the grant is awarded at that level; they also noted that accepting a grant award later would likely require another signature step.