The Allen County Jail population remains an issue while county officials wait for word on whether the $300-million new facility can be built.
The new jail is a court-accepted solution to a federal court order addressing overcrowding and other unconstitutional issues at the aging downtown facility. That project is tied up in a tax court lawsuit disputing the financing structure put in place by Allen County government.
The jail population remains high, hovering upwards of 682 inmates, which is around 100 more than allowed by the court order.
In the month since the last status report, that number has inched downward with assistance from the Indiana Department of Correction.
After a plea from Allen County criminal justice stakeholders to Gov. Eric Holcomb, the state recently took almost triple the number of sentenced inmates into the DOC as normal.
Court documents say attorneys with the ACLU, which is representing the plaintiff in the federal lawsuit over the jail issues, are skeptical the state can continue to take the higher number.
In July, the ACLU sought a prisoner release order from U.S. District Judge Damon R. Liechty (Leak-tee) to reduce the jail population.
A status report on the project is required by Sept. 11.
