The Detention Center
Putnam County Jail
- Operated byPutnam County Sheriff's Office
- Jail address120 N. 4th St, Hennepin, IL 61327
- Year built (county site)2005
- Use (county site)Holds people awaiting trial, being processed, or serving short sentences
- Rated capacity (IDOC 2025)5 (5 male, 0 female)
- Population on inspection day (IDOC 2025)Report prints "Total: 0 Male 1 Female: 0" (26 Aug 2025)
- Where others go (IDOC 2025)"Neighboring counties are used for longer term housing needs"; female detainees are generally housed at the LaSalle County Jail
- FY2023 budget (county)Sheriff $721,700; Jail $44,000; out-of-county jail housing expense $10,000
- Jail AdministratorBailey Towne — Named as jail administrator in the IDOC 2025 inspection report; not named on the county pages opened
Source: Putnam County Jail page · checked 2026-09-20
Transparency rating
2/10Closed- ✓The jail is named
- ✗Who is in custody — not published
- ✗Beds and daily population — not published
- ✓What it costs taxpayers
- ✗Deaths in custody — not published
- ✗PREA audits — not published
- ✗Independent inspection — not published
- ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
- ✗How to post bond — not published
- ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year built2005 (county site; IDOC 2025 report agrees)
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- Beds5 rated (IDOC 2025 report)
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Joshua B. Boedigheimer
- Runs the jailYes — the sheriff is warden of the county jail (55 ILCS 5/3-15003)
- How the office is filledElected, four-year term
- Office address (county site)120 N. Fourth Street, Hennepin, IL 61327
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Putnam County Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-09-20
The Judges
Illinois circuit judges are elected on a partisan ballot and then stand for retention every six years (60% yes needed); associate judges are appointed by the circuit judges. They are state judicial officers, not county officials. Since 18 September 2023 Illinois has no cash bail — judges decide pretrial release or detention at a hearing.
Putnam County Circuit Court
- Not found
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-20
The County Board
They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.
- What they controlThe detention budget, the building itself, and the agreements that let other agencies rent its beds.
- What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and is the warden of the jail by state law (55 ILCS 5/3-15003).
- NoteChairman Charles Lenkaitis; Vice-Chairman Anthony "Tony" Rue, Jr.; members Luke Holly, Marlee Giacometti, Floyd "BJ" Holocker III (as listed on the board page).
- The boardPutnam County Board →
- Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →
Notes on the record
- Very small jail: IDOC rates it at 5 male beds; neighbouring counties take longer-term detainees and women generally go to the LaSalle County Jail (IDOC 2025 report).
- County jail page gives address, 2005 build year, visiting hours (by appointment) and says phone deposits go through an inmate sales website; no rates.
- Most recent budget found on the county site is FY2023, which shows Sheriff and Jail appropriations and a $10,000 out-of-county jail housing line.
- No roster, capacity figure, bond guidance, PREA, deaths, inspection or contract material found on the county site.
- State inspection/oversight: IDOC Jail and Detention Standards Unit, inspected 26 August 2025: rated capacity 5; the report's population line reads "Total: 0 Male 1 Female: 0"; noncompliances: inadequate staffing — "Due to low staffing levels, the jail must utilize one officer to staff the jail on weekends."
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Putnam County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff who runs this jail is elected. So are the county board members who pay for it.
Names verified 2026-09-20 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered