Wanted in LaSalle County: Inmates from Chicago

OTTAWA — The LaSalle County Jail is hoping to generate extra revenue by housing Chicago-area inmates.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart recently toured the 13-year-old facility as part of its bid to take in extra inmates.

LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton says there are times when the 306-bed jail is only half full.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reports that the jail was built in anticipation of a population increase that hasn’t materialized. The area is home to about 100,000 people.

Other jails around the state, including in neighboring Livingston County, have agreements to house Cook County Jail inmates.

Livingston County Jail Superintendent Bill Cox says his county gets $50 a day for each nonresident inmate it houses. He calls that “an absolutely good thing.”