Security at courthouse, jail to get upgrades
By Suzanne Werre
Editor
After the recent inmate escape from the McLean County Jail in Washburn, the county commissioners approved adding steel roofing and another layer of hardened sheet rock over the dorms and cell blocks at the jail to prevent any further escapes.
McLean County Jail Administrator Wade Krohmer said the inmate, William Rawson, was able to escape through a flaw in the jail’s roof structure.
“It was a flaw in the structure,” said Krohmer. An area in the roofing that had not been welded, and “he happened to find that spot and could squeeze through, so now we’re going to put steel on the dorms.”
“The repairs have to be made to improve the facility,” said Commission Chair Steve Lee. “And I think we need some additional training for the jailers.
“We need to prevent this, certainly, from ever happening in the future,” said Lee.
While, yes, there was a flaw in the structure of the building, there was still a “human component” that led to the escape.
