Read the full report on Cleveland 19 News
A recent investigative report from Channel 19 News exposed just how deep Lorain County’s jail problems go. Commissioners are working to secure more than $100 million for a new facility after decades of neglect left the current one in disrepair. The 50-year-old building has become an expensive liability, plagued by leaks, mold, rust, and failing equipment. Sheriff Jack Hall told WOIO that the jail’s sallyport gate still relies on a motor from the 1960s, which keeps breaking down and has cost $30,000 in repairs this year alone.
According to Commissioner Jeffrey Riddell, the situation is the result of years of poor maintenance. “Mopping the floors and washing windows is not maintenance,” he said, pointing out that the county focused on appearances instead of long-term care. Riddell also described the jail’s outdated layout as unsafe, saying it fails to properly separate inmates based on the severity of their crimes. “When we mix the hard-core criminal with the accidental lawbreaker,” he said, “we create an environment that’s not safe for those folks or the jailers.”
What makes this even harder to justify is timing. Just weeks after voters rejected a levy to fund the Sheriff’s Department, county leaders are setting aside $18 million toward a $115 million jail project. If residents weren’t willing to pay a little more to fund the department’s day-to-day operations, why would they support spending more than a hundred million dollars on a new facility? It’s a glaring disconnect that reflects a bigger issue: commissioners are spending money they don’t have while ignoring what voters just said at the ballot box.
This pattern isn’t new. The county’s leadership has made a habit of spending first and explaining later. Whether it’s the ongoing effort to redevelop Midway Mall, the proposed industrial megasite, or now a new jail, the spending never stops. Millions of taxpayer dollars are being poured into large-scale projects without a clear, responsible plan for sustainability or return. It isn’t fiscal management. It’s wishful thinking funded by public money. And it’s being driven by what certain leaders want, not what the county can truly afford.
Riddell argued that without a functional jail, the county’s justice system cannot operate. That may be true, but residents are right to question why these same leaders continue to make major financial decisions without first fixing their priorities. The jail crisis is not an isolated problem. It’s the latest symptom of a county government that refuses to live within its means.
Lorain County may eventually get its new jail, but unless its leadership starts spending responsibly, taxpayers will keep paying the price for mistakes they didn’t make.