Some LaSalle County officials are worried about the ground shifting outside the county jail. In the last three years, the ground by the women’s jail pod has been drying up, so the soil pack has been shrinking and cracking. Joe Safransky of Midwest Testing told the County Board Property Committee this week, he thinks the problem will continue, although he also thinks the worst of it is over.
But county officials, including Sheriff Tom Templeton, want to know if the ground shifting like that is stressing the building. If the building’s in danger of damage, inmates and staff will have to be moved out of it. Safransky recommends the county hire a structural engineer to investigate.