Chicago - A message from the station manager

The Weekend Desk Report

By Steve Rhodes

For completists, there was no column on Friday.
“In the early 2000s, McHenry County’s population was booming – and officials needed a bigger jail. To save money, the county cut a deal: the federal government gave the county millions of dollars toward expanding the jail, and in return, the county agreed to detain undocumented immigrants for the next decade,” the Sun-Times reports.
“But three years after that first contract ended, McHenry County’s population growth has slowed to the point it doesn’t need the extra room in its jail in Woodstock – but it has continued to hold detainees for the federal government.
“And while the number of detainees ebbed and flowed over the years – to the point that some county commissioners wanted to end the contract – a spike in detainees recently has turned the contract into a cash cow for the county.”
Okay, how much?


“The bed-rental program will bring in in more than $10 million by the end of 2018, up from $8.3 million last year for housing detainees, officials said. The 2018 revenue would be the most since at least 2015, documents show. McHenry County administrator Peter Austin said the take in is among the most, if not the most, the contract has ever raised for the county in any one year.”
Demand for space has apparently gone up.
*
“Carlos Acosta, the former head of the McHenry County Latino Coalition who was elected to the county board earlier this month, asked whether the contract is worth the money it brings in.

“It’s been a divisive issue because it raises the question, is there a profit motive when the county sheriff is making traffic stops?” Acosta asked, referring to stops that could lead to the arrest and detention of an undocumented immigrant.
Given President Donald Trump’s emphasis on cracking down on undocumented immigrants, Acosta questions the relationship between the county and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Over the last two years, ICE has really been weaponized. Do we really want to be part of that weaponized system?” he asked.

Well, it is a lot of money. How much does one’s humanity cost?
“We still have all kinds of available capacity in our jail, so we’re utilizing that capacity in a manner that makes revenue sense for us,” Austin told the paper.
Now we know.
Peter Austin, you are Today’s Worst Person In Chicagoland.
*
Go read the rest; there’s a lot more.
*
See also: For Private Prisons, Detaining Immigrants Is Big Business.
–
New on the Beachwood . . .
Rosemont Christmas Dog Show!
Meet and greet, obey and rally.
*
The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #229: Bears > Cubs
One loathsome family suddenly trying harder to win than the other. Plus: Remembering Luis Valbuena; The Biggest Cubs News Of The Week Happened In St. Louis; White Sox To The Rescue?; The Maddons Are Outta Here!; Holiday Bowling; Boca Raton Bowling; Bulls, Blackhawks Stinks; Stevie Sunshine Hit & Ran; and These Things About Fred Hoiberg Can All Be True At The Same Time.
–
Weekend ChicagoReddit

Is the hangge uppe closed? from r/chicago


–
Weekend ChicagoGram

View this post on Instagram

Blek le Rat By Fullerton and Damen

A post shared by Lücky Gnomë (@luckygnomechicago) on


–
Weekend ChicagoTube
The Economic Club Of Chicago Second Dinner Meeting With Bono

–
Weekend BeachBook
A sampling.
How TBOX Grew Into Chicago’s Most Notorious Bar Crawls.

*
Life-Saving Drug More Accessible To Lab Rat Than Majority Of Americans.

*
Russia Must Pay Pussy Riot $50,000 For Violating Their Human Rights.

*
A “RESIST” Sign In Evanston Gets Complaints From The Neighbors.

–
Weekend TweetWood
A sampling.


*


*


*


*


*


*


*


*


–
The Beachwood McRibTipLine: Getting there.

Permalink

Posted on December 8, 2018