Dividends expected from county computer system

We accept McLean County Administrator John Zeunik's word that a $6.5 million computer system linking all facets of the county's criminal justice system is state of the art.

The system seems pricey, but it will be worth it if it saves about $1 million a year as Zeunik anticipates.

The one-of-a-kind system will eventually link the offices of the sheriff, circuit clerk, state's attorney, courts and probation. The idea is that all departments dealing with criminals will use information keyed into computers at the Sheriff's Office when an arrest is made instead of making paper copies and each office re-keying virtually identical information. That's where the savings in personnel, time and material comes in. It may not mean a reduction in staff, but it could avoid the hiring of someone as filings increase.

In addition, the system will allow issuance of warrants online, complete with pictures of suspects if available from the Sheriff's Office. The state's attorney's office will even be able to file charges online. And judges will be able to retrieve a defendant's criminal record online.

It was a case of McLean County officials not finding what they wanted on the market, but finding a firm willing to gamble with them on developing an integrated communication system from scratch. That firm, TRW of Denver, Colo., is giving the county a break on its hourly costs of setting up the system because it is already using McLean County as a model to sell similar systems to other counties throughout the United States. Those are the types of private-public partnerships that should be encouraged among government agencies.

Integrating the system hasn't been without its problems, especially for a period when the circuit clerk's office was unable to retrieve some files. Knowing the county will have a unique system probably won't appease those whose files couldn't be retrieved, but those kinds of problems aren't unique to anyone familiar with changeovers with computer systems.

The project started in 1997 and was thought to be a $5.7 million project. The cost has grown with the comprehensiveness of files. Completion of the probation office this spring will finish the link for criminal cases. Civil cases will be loaded late next year so they can be managed as efficiently as the criminal records. County officials are to be commended for their foresight, patience and willingness to continue investing in this system during this drawn-out period.