2005 Year in Review

"A Day in the Life of a W.C. Correctional Officer"

Kelly Wilhelmi fastens cuffs to a prisoner's ankles to ready him for the walk to the courthouse to appear before the judge.

Nurse, Janice Holesinger discusses medical problems with one of the prisoners.

Kelly Wilhelmi passes a dinner tray through the food port hole in the door.

Prisoners walk to the courthouse to appear before the judge. They are handcuffed together and they also wear cuffs on their ankles.

Bob Geerts is one of the control room operators.

As part of Morrison’s Sesquicentennial Celebration for 2005 January’s spotlight is Whiteside County Law Enforcement. This is Part 1 of a series of stories this month on the background and backbone of the county’s law enforcement. I would like to give special thanks to those who allowed this to be a real learning experience for me.

I was given the privilege to spend “A Day in the Life of a Whiteside County Correctional Officer” on Thursday, December 16, 2004.

I arrived at 10 a.m., though the shift began at 6 a.m. and involves 12 hours, I was able to witness 4 ½ hours of life on the jail floor. I was informed that it was a slow day but for me the time went by so fast.

I followed behind Kelly Wilhelmi for the 4-½ hours I was there. Kelly was the shift supervisor for that day and has been in law enforcement for 16 years.

The Whiteside County jail can hold 113 prisoners at one time. It originally held 74. Some of the cells will hold five and some will hold 6 prisoners at a time. But with more inmates these cells have been double bunked. On the Northeast end, dormitory like cells are in place titled Work 1 and Work 2. They are for the work release inmates and are both double bunked. Each cell can hold 16 inmates apiece. Women are in what is called “J” Block, which too is set up like a dormitory with double bunks. The South end is a more maximum-security cells. “A” Block is for as Sheriff Schipper stated, “Children who don’t play well.” “A” Block will hold six inmates. Cell Blocks “B”, “C”, “D” “E”, and “F” are all double bunked cells. Cell Blocks “G” and “H” were originally used for juveniles but the county can no longer by law hold juveniles in the jail. One of these cells will hold four and the other holds six. There are two cells that are used as intake cells for booking and holding. There is also one cell for medical isolation. Kelly stated that when he first started they averaged 88 prisoners at a time. Now they average about 90.

Three to four times a year they encounter a prisoner who is going through DT’s, which are Delirium tremens. These are withdrawal symptoms from alcohol or drugs. The day I was there, there was a gentleman going through DT’s. He was in a holding cell. It was really quite pitiful for me to see someone going through this. He was talking to himself. Claimed he had caught and skinned a deer, which was really the mattress from his bed.

Our next assignment was to do checks with the prisoners from the nurse. Janice Holesinger, from Fulton is the prison R.N. The prisoners put in a request to see the nurse and one by one she examines or discusses problems that they are having. That particular day the ailments ranged from stomach aches, ingrown toenails, a sore knee, and a possible case of scabies.

Going through the jail cell floor was not at all what I had expected. I had thought it would be like the Alcatraz layout where you walked down an aisle and there were cells on each side of you. Whiteside County jail cells consist of a hallway where there are electronically locked doors that open into a small holding area and then behind another locked door are the cells. Prisoners are locked out of their cells during the day and let into what is called a “day room” where they can make collect phone calls, read, play cards and games, listen to the radio, or watch television.

“Every block has its own personality,” said Kelly. “When prisoners come in we try to get them in a cell block that we think will fit them. We don’t want to put a lamb into a cell block with lions.” Kelly also stated that about 99 percent of the fights are over the television stations or card games. “So if we have someone who likes sports we try to put them in a block where there are other who like sports.” Radio stations also cause problems sometimes so they switch off types of music. Another problem is rival gang members in the same cellblock. Sheriff Schipper stated that gangs in this area are a real problem.

Trustees as they are called are inmates who get a few added extras for good behavior. A lot are “good guys” who have made a mistake. They can help in the kitchen, help in cleaning and laundry, do yard work around the building and help the janitorial staff take garbage to the dump. They are also rewarded with a little extra to eat and some may get their sentencing reduced, on good behavior.

Three meals a day are served through a “food port”, which is an opening in the door where trays containing food are handed to the prisoners. Thursday’s meal consisted of chicken noodles, peas, applesauce and bread.

I asked Kelly if with the holiday season approaching if they had more problems with depression or suicide attempts than normally. He told me they didn’t but that more people were arrested for domestic battery this time of year.

Prisoners try excuses to get out on medical leave sometimes. One instance the county jail encountered was the prisoners were breaking their toothbrushes and stabbing themselves. That was remedied by only allowing them to have toothbrushes that slipped over their finger. Kelly stated that women try five times more than male inmates to be released on a medical leave. One inmate faked epilepsy seizures. A pregnant inmate faked spotting. In the time that Kelly had been at the Whiteside County jail there have only been two deaths. One was a suicide in 1986 and another of natural causes when the inmate suffered a heart attack.

The next experience for me was to transport prisoners from the jail floor to court. Prisoners are taken out of their cells, handcuffed and then kneel on a chair to attach cuffs to their ankles. They are asked to kneel as a safety measure and then cuffs can be attached with the keyholes facing down.

First appearances in court are for the purpose of probable cause. State’s attorney tells the judge why the officer arrested the person and if the officer had justifiable cause for the arrest. The judge then schedules a preliminary hearing in which the officer may be called to testify as to why the person was arrested.

A formal arraignment is then set where the prison and his-her lawyer or public defender can enter the first plea. Following the arraignment a pre-trial is set as a continuation from the first plea or to reach an agreement on the terms of the prisoner. From the time of arrest until the conclusion of trials can take around six months.

Officers on the jail floor do not carry guns but are continuously monitored by a control room operator. Bob Geerts was the operator for this day. Cameras are set up to monitor every area on the jail floor. He is also in control of opening and shutting doors and in charge of the elevators.

It was interesting for me to sit in the control room where everyone gathers to take a break, and hear the officers recall instances or happenings with prisoners. Most were called by name and the stories would begin, “Remember when so and so….” And the story would continue as each officer remembered.

by Dawn Zuidema, theCity1.com
January 4, 2005