Christmas celebration for families of Lake County inmates

Mary Lacey has organized a holiday event at the Lake County jail for several years now to help families of those who are behind bars at Christmastime as well as other needy families in the community.

In addition to the toy giveaway and food drive, Lacey also organized a parade. It was for those families as well as for law enforcement, she said. "They've got so many marches going on these days and the image of the police being what it is, I wanted to show that the police do good in our community too," the longtime Waukegan-based activist said. "I think this will do a lot, but everybody needs to do a lot more."

The six-block march featuring floats, law enforcement vehicles, children holding hands with police officers and several area politicians ended Saturday morning at the Lake County Correctional Center where a small army of volunteers doled out food and toys.

"It's nice to come out and have a good time, celebrate and get gifts for the kids, and appreciate how everybody is giving things out for everybody here today," said Ariana Crawford of Waukegan.

Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim was one of the local law enforcement officials who marched in the parade. He said the best part of the event was that it "brings the community together to help each other."

Nerheim added that Lake County has been working harder to offer pretrial services to those at the jail in an effort to reduce the jail population and keep families together for holidays.

"We don't want people in jail unless they absolutely need to be in jail," Nerheim said. "This is something we've invested in to try and get people working, or trying to find work, going to school or trying to better themselves instead of waiting for trial in the jail. It's certainly more cost-effective than simply putting someone in jail."