Despite one member’s expressed fears that a $2.4 million expenditure could damage Kane County’s favorable bond rating, the County Board Tuesday approved a proposal to modify an unopened dormitory at the County Jail into maximum-security space.
Catherine Schick Hurlbut (R-Elgin), a member of the board’s Finance Committee, said the cost could drop the county’s cash balances low enough to threaten the county’s AA bond rating.
“Now we will be sitting on the bubble,” Hurlbut said.. “I don’t know what would happen, but if we make this expenditure, it could drop us to an A rating. If we borrow, that could mean a several percentage difference in interest rates.”
But by a 22-2 vote, the board seemed more concerned with the impact of chronic overcrowding at a jail that has caught the attention of the Illinois Department of Corrections, which last month gave Kane County six months to improve overcrowded conditions or face sanctions.