About 900 obsolete electronic monitoring anklets sit in the Cook County Sheriff's Department's storage closets, and the department is requesting authorization for a $4.5 million contract to lease new ones, a spokesman says.
Steve Patterson says the contract with Naperville-based ElmoTech, Inc., would bring the sheriff's department's electronic monitoring program up to date. The program currently relies on products it purchased in 1998.
"You can imagine in 1998 when we got these, the technology that was available then versus now. It's a night and day difference," he says.
The ElmoTech contract, to be discussed by County Board members tomorrow, would provide about 1,500 anklets, as well as a data collection service to monitor inmates under house arrest.
ElmoTech has committed to upgrading the county's electronic monitoring capabilities if new technology should arise.
The old monitoring units rely on telephone service, which can cause problems if the phone service is provided through cable or fiberoptic lines.
The new batch can be linked to cell phones to provide the county with better monitoring, Patterson says.
Sheriff Tom Dart has advocated for more electronic monitoring, which costs taxpayers about $35 a day, compared to $117 for housing inmates in the jail.
Chief Judge Tim Evans said last month he would study the effects of electronic monitoring more carefully to measure its effectiveness.
About 600 people are currently under electronic monitoring. Patterson says roughly 25 people a day are enrolled in the program.