BLOOMINGTON - Inmates who have a mental illness usually get better care at the McLean County jail than when they're out, said Melinda Fellner, the jail's inmate assessment specialist.

They have access to counseling through the Center for Human Services Crisis Team, and all of their medications are provided.

Last year, the county spent nearly $179,000 on medicine for jail inmates. That cost includes medicines for pain relief, diabetes, asthma and other general medical problems as well as those for treatment of mental illness.

Fellner said about 20 percent of the jail's 280 inmates take medicines for mental health conditions. The jail cannot force inmates to take the medicine, she said, adding only state facilities have that ability.

Those with severe mental health issues are often ordered by the court to go to a state facility such as McFarland Mental Health Center in Springfield or Chester Mental Health Center in Chester.

Unfortunately, Fellner said, that transfer can take time. Recently a man charged with aggravated battery for choking a nurse on the psychiatric ward at BroMenn Regional Medical Center was at the McLean County jail for more than a month before he was transferred to Chester.

"Bed space at the hospitals is at a premium, too," she said. "We hear a lot that we're 10th on the waiting list."

Another problem with the system is follow-up for jail inmates who serve their time and are released. It may be some time before they can get in to see someone who can prescribe the drugs they need, and they can slip backward in the meantime.

"If we could hold them accountable for taking their medication, it would help," said Nikki Wilder, program coordinator for the Center for Human Services Crisis Team.

That would be one of the aspects of a proposed mental health court.