Published: February 08, 2010 10:51 am      

Sheriff trades impounded vehicle for new SUVs

EFFINGHAM — The Effingham County Sheriff’s Department used an impounded vehicle to buy two brand-new vehicles recently.

Sheriff John Monnet said the department traded a 2007 Cadillac Escalade seized from a driver with multiple DUIs for two 2010 Ford Expedition SUVs. One of the new Fords will be the sheriff’s duty vehicle, while the other will be used by the department’s K-9 unit.

Monnet said both cars are already set up for police work, with heavy-duty transmissions and shock absorbers. The sheriff said the trade helped him remove two vehicles with more than 100,000 miles on them without costing taxpayers a dime.

“The taxpayers worry about where the money goes, but I think this is a great thing because we don’t have to beg for vehicles,” Monnet said.

County Board member David Campbell praised Monnet for making the deal.

“I think he needs to be commended for doing this,” Campbell said. “He saved the taxpayers a lot of money.”

New Expeditions are priced beginning at $35,585, according to the Ford Web site. A 2007 Escalade is listed at $38,650, according to the National Automobile Dealer Association Web site.

Also Thursday, Monnet gave his 2009 report to the committee. According to the sheriff, the department made 8,494 calls, had 2,714 jail inmates and served 53,904 meals at the jail.

Monnet said department personnel transported 146 inmates to other institutions, usually Illinois state prisons, logging a total of 20,131 miles. The sheriff said the department has already made a lot of transports so far this year, with 19 trips totaling 2,535 miles in January alone.

Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 132 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com