Wojnicki, Catlin offer different perspectives on Kane Co. issues

The votes to build the new Kane County jail and downsize the county health department aroused more public attention than most actions by the county board in recent years. The candidates for the District 15 seat don't agree on the ramifications of those votes.

Both incumbent Barb Wojnicki and challenger Kay Catlin agree the new jail is too small. But they don't exactly agree on why that's the case. Wojnicki said the jail is too small today simply because times have changed.

"None of us could see the future at the time," she said. "The economy is partially to blame. The crime rate is increasing. The jail was built according to what the county could afford. (County Board Chairman) Karen (McConnaughay) didn't want to go over that $55 million."

But Catlin said the plan the board approved was a bad design. It was obvious the new jail would be too small given the number of prisoners the county has had compared to the number of beds in the new jail, she said.

"It was filled the day it was open," Catlin said. "They told us the whole idea was to quit farming people out to other county jails, and now we're farming people out. The jail size was based on budget concern, not how many prisoners do we need to hold."

Both Wojnicki and Catlin said the county must open the mothballed expansion wings of the jail now. They both favor cutting budgets in other departments and using reserve money to fund the expansion. Wojnicki said the idea that the county can't afford to hire more corrections officers to open the expansion units is misguided.

"I don't buy it," Wojnicki said. "Public safety is No. 1. If you have to cut back on other areas of your budget so the public is safe, so be it."

One area the county cut back recently was the size and services offered through the health department. Chronically late state reimbursements fueled a push to reject the state funds and transfer social services for 6,000 families to the Visiting Nurse Association of the Fox Valley, the Greater Elgin Family Care Center and Aunt Martha's Health Center. The downsizing will also result in 62 health department employees losing their jobs.

Catlin said it was a tough choice, but she would've voted in favor of the downsizing had she been on the county board.

"If the health department can't do its job, that seems like a logical place to put (the services)," Catlin said. "Everybody is worried about people falling through the cracks. I'm going to be there until the last dog dies to see that that (doesn't happen). Let's try and make the best with what we've got to work with."

Catlin, however, said she also wasn't convinced the county couldn't get the state money to keep services flowing through the health department. She suspects union busting to cut salaries may have been the real motivation behind the downsizing. And it's that suspicion that makes Wojnicki particularly proud of her vote.

"I was definitely opposed, in this economy, to laying off 62 employees. I don't think we needed to downsize the health department. At the end of the day, I never saw a piece of paper from the state of Illinois saying we're not going to give you this funding so you can continue your program. I think we would've gotten the money. The money is there. Now it's just going to go to the VNA, Aunt Martha's and Greater Elgin."