Lt. Governor Visits Kane County Jail, Commits To Partnerships in 2020
From left to right, Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Nate Lanthrum, clinical director at Lighthouse Recovery, who runs the medically assisted treatment and group counseling in the jail’s Recovery Pod. (CREDIT: Kane County Sheriff’s Office)
Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain says Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton and her office have committed to partnering with the Sheriff’s Office “on several initiatives in 2020,” following Stratton’s Tuesday tour of the Kane County Jail.
Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (CREDIT: Kane County Sheriff’s Office)
According to a Sheriff’s Office news release, Stratton toured the facility Tuesday (Jan. 14, 2020), as part of the Lt. Governor’s Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative.
Stratton was accompanied by state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, who is also a member of the Kane County Board, as well as state Reps. Karina Villa and Stephanie Kifowit and state Sen. Linda Holmes.
Stratton visited Kane County to learn more about Sheriff’s Office initiatives to provide vocational training, job connections, medically assisted treatment for the opioid dependent, and intense addiction counseling for detainees in effort to return them to the community as productive citizens.
Hain said the programs have been put in place without seeking additional money from Kane County taxpayers.
Programs include the new Corrections Diversion Team, whose members work one-on-one with detainees and teach group classes.
Stratton and her staff toured the jail to better understand the office’s redesign of cell blocks, which classifies detainees who are ready for reform and will be released soon.
“The restructuring allows easier facilitation of courses to those that need it most,” Hain said in the news release.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (CREDIT: Kane County Sheriff’s Office)
Hain said he is most proud of the new Recovery Pod, where the medically assisted treatment and addiction counseling take place.
The Lt Governor was introduced to 14 detainees in Recovery Pod and sat in a roundtable discussion with them.
“These are men and women who began dealing drugs as early as 10 years old, (some of whom) had no parenting, no mentorship, and who have been in and out of custody their entire lives,” he said. “We, as a criminal justice system, believe that simply jailing them in a concrete box will teach them a lesson, when in actuality, jail is just part of their lives and culture for generations and considered an acceptable passage.
“Now they’re learning how to be responsible, productive adults through counseling and mentoring. Then they are given job opportunities and connected directly to employers and continued counseling upon their release. This is how we begin turning the tides on mass incarceration, cyclical crime and addiction, and rebuild police-community relations.”
SOURCE: Kane County Sheriff’s Office news release
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