Ahead of April 15 deadline, Monroe County BOC gives authority to president to extend jail accord, if ACLU agrees
Monroe County commissioners voted on Wednesday to authorize board president Julie Thomas to sign a possible extension of the county’s long-running settlement agreement with the ACLU over jail conditions, as talks continue ahead of the agreement’s April 15 expiration.
At its regular meeting on Wednesday (April 9), the Monroe County board of commissioners (BOC) authorized board president Julie Thomas to sign an extension of the county’s private settlement agreement with the ACLU, over conditions at the county jail. The BOC action was taken ahead of the current agreement’s April 15, 2026 expiration.
County attorney Jeff Cockerill told commissioners that discussions are continuing with counsel for the ACLU of Indiana, Ken Falk, and the Monroe County Sheriff, both of whom must approve any extension, in addition to the commissioners.
The settlement agreement was originally reached in 2009 after a 2008 lawsuit was filed over unconstitutional conditions at the jail based on overcrowding.
Because the April 15 deadline falls before the next regular meeting of the commissioners, which is set for April 23, Cockerill recommended delegating signing authority to Thomas, if terms for an extension are agreed on. The motion to allow the board president to execute the extension passed on a 3–0 vote. Commissioner Jody Madeira called it a “darn good idea.”
Asked if there had been positive communication from the ACLU on the question of extending the settlement agreement, county attorney Jeff Cockerill told The B Square after the meeting: “Positive communication, yes. Done deal, no.” He added, “It’s a step that I think could happen, but I’m not saying will or will not.”
The 90-day extension of the current settlement agreement, from Jan. 15, 2026, came after an agreed motion was filed in federal court on Jan. 7 by the ACLU and Monroe County lawyers.
For several years, the settlement agreement had been given an annual extension, by joint agreement—most recently at the end of 2024.
But in a letter to the county legal department two days before the end of 2025, attorney for the ACLU, Ken Falk, expressed skepticism that the situation underlying the 2008 lawsuit is anywhere close to getting resolved. He put it like this: “We are no closer to resolving the continuing problems at the Monroe County Jail than when we entered into the PSA [private settlement agreement] in 2009.”
Since receiving Falk’s letter, county commissioners and county councilors have been trying to achieve what the letter calls “some clear movement for resolving the jail problem during the 90-day extension,” which might result in a further extension. The idea is that by having the settlement agreement still in place, it forestalls fresh litigation based on the current conditions.
The county’s progress on constructing a new jail stalled out in late October last year, when the county council unanimously rejected the appropriation required for closing on the deal to purchase the North Park property. Since then, the county council and the county commissioners have approved resolutions outlining their stance on the question of how to move forward on the jail project.
In their resolution, councilors say: “The Monroe County Council no longer wishes to consider the ‘North Park’ property for the location of the new facility”. In their resolution, commissioners say: “The Commissioners will continue to consider the North Park Site for the justice project.”
In its resolution, the county council set itself an April 7 deadline: “[T]he Monroe County Council will actively work towards executing a purchase agreement for property and identify the funding source for said purchase and construction of a new facility no later than April 7, 2026.”
The April 7 deadline passed without any public revelation by the council of the funding source. The council next meets on April 14, a day ahead of the date when the settlement agreement with the ACLU expires.
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