Union County

The Detention Center

Not found

• Operated byNot found
• County jailNot named on county pages opened; no IDOC 2025 or 2024 inspection report at the standard URL
• FY2026 budget, Courthouse/Jail dept.'5335 - DETENTION $420,000'; '5336 - DETENTION - JUVENILES 25,000'
• FY2026 budget, Sheriff dept.'5318 - ARRESTEE MEDICAL 18,000'

Source: Union County FY2026 Budget · checked 2026-09-20

• ✗The jail is named — not published
• ✗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

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Union County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-09-20. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

The Building

You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.

• Year builtNot found
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byNot found
• BedsNot found

The Sheriff

Sheriff David Wilkins

• Runs the jailThe sheriff is keeper of any county jail by law (55 ILCS 5/3-15003); whether Union County runs its own jail was not confirmed
• How the office is filledElected, four-year term
• Office address308 W. Mississippi Street, Jonesboro, IL 62952

Source: Union County Sheriff page · 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.

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).
• NoteHome page lists Chairman Max Miller, Vice-Chairman Kent Pitts and members Darryl Harvell, Brandon Bierstedt, David Gould; the site's section is titled 'Commissioners'.
• The boardUnion County Board (listed as 'Commissioners' on the county site) →
• Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →