Required through the State of Illinois, two correctional officers are to be on duty at all times, 24 hours a day. With a small staff, Henderson County is now housing their inmates in the Warren County Jail, reports Sheriff Matt Link:
“Just the standards that the state makes us abide by, as small a jail as Henderson County is, even Warren County, we are required to have two correctional officers on 24 hours a day. I was down to where I only had four full-time correctional officers and some part-time people helping, still not to the standards but I was able to cover 24-hour periods. We had three of the full-time correctional officers leave and that left me down to one full-time correctional officer. At that point my hands were tied. I had no other choice but to temporarily house inmates somewhere else.”
Additionally, Warren County Sheriff Martin Edwards informs meals for the inmates come from Knox County, which is also where female inmates are being housed.
