PHOTO STORY: Take a Tour of the New, $1.8 Million Sheriff’s Shooting Range
Kane County celebrated a grand opening Thursday, Sept. 25, on a new indoor shooting range and training facility that likely will serve the county and surrounding law-enforcement agencies for the next 30 to 50 years.
The facility, located at the Kane County Judicial Center adjacent to the Sheriff’s Office, is a 6,700-square-foot building whose centerpiece is a shooting range that allows not only stationary target practice but tactical training, with enough space to bring in vehicles that allow trainers to simulate situations officers encounter in the field.
Secondary functions of the $1.8 million facility include meeting rooms, a storage area and office.
Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez said the need for a new facility became evident after the former shooting range, on the old Kane County Jail property along Fabyan Parkway, flooded out.
“We so relied on the old firearms facility on Fabyan Parkway,” he said. “Through time and the demolition of surrounding buildings, that became the lowest point on that property, and became prone to flooding, to the point it was contaminated and we could no longer use it.
“I want to thank the city of St. Charles and the St. Charles Police Department for allowing us to use their outdoor range during their interim to keep my people qualified. However, when 244 people in my organization need to be qualified with a firearm, it’s very difficult, and we lose a lot of man hours sending people out to another facility. There’s a reason we had the other facility onsite. This is very exciting for us, and it’s going to be very much of an advantage not to lose man hours sending people traveling to get their qualifications.
“The other thing that’s exciting about this is that this is going to be a regional training center,” he said. “Many of the local law-enforcement agencies and the NorthEast Multi-Regional Training will be able to use this, as well. So this is going to benefit quite a few people.”
Perez also thanked Cordogan, Clark & Associates, the Aurora-based engineering and construction team that turned the dream into reality and completed the project a month earlier that projected.
“They absolutely knocked it out of the park,” he said. “I am extremely happy with the quality of the construction of this building, and shortly, we’re going to have the first shot fired.”
Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen underlined that the project was a team effort and thanked County Board members, staff and taxpayers for supporting the initiative.
“I think we all recognize that the first responsibility to the citizens we serve together is public safety,” he said. “It was because of the reputation you’ve built as a law-enforcement community as well as all the good people who support you and your families that this was an easier project to put together than most.”
For additional information and video of the grand opening, please read the article: See and Hear the First Shots Fired at the New Kane County Regional Training Center
