The 41-year-old democratic sheriff, who is seeking his third term, said he is most concerned with a budget crunch and the operation of the jail.

Although the department’s budget almost always is increasing, Kilquist said he saves money in various ways. He said departmental auto purchases were eliminated for 1991, which will save $60,000. He also says he saves money through creative scheduling.

The County Board is wanting me to cut an additional 10 percent out of our budget and I’ve already cut 6 or 7 percent, he said. Any other cuts will be in personnel. Since Kilquist was first elected in 1982, he has increased the number of deputies by two and doubled his jail staff. His total staff includes 53 people.

He said the department’s budget increased from approximately $2.1 million last year to $2.2 million this year.

We’re always looking for ways to save money, he said. To help the department fight declining revenues, Kilquist has implemented pre-employment contracts for prospective officers, which prevents candidates from leaving after the department has paid for their training. Also, Kilquist estimates the department gains $120,000 to $130,000 each year by housing federal prisoners.

We’re always looking and applying for state and federal grants, he said. In 1988 Kilquist’s office received a $90,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which allowed for the hiring of two more staff members.

In 1984 Kilquist cut costs with the formalization of a major case squad, which draws personnel on a voluntary basis from county and state police departments to investigate murders, rapes and crimes of armed violence. This saves the department money by sharing the costs of investigation with other police departments.

Kilquist has made several changes in the county sheriff’s department. Three years ago he helped integrate the county ambulance service dispatch with the sheriff’s office dispatch. He said he foresees the county police, fire and ambulance service combined into one dispatch service.

See KILQUIST, Page 5

Agencies would save money on radio equipment, antennas, tape recorders and it would cut the costs of staffing the separate dispatching units, he said.

Kilquist also made changes in keeping records.

When I first became Sheriff there were no records, no personnel files and we didn’t even have a typewriter that could write a good business letter, he said. The jail was in violation of state standards. Today, the new jail is constitutional, records are kept on computers and the staff is well equipped. The department’s investigation, jail and dispatching sections have all been computerized.

He said his relationship with the county board is split because there are some on the board who have an idea where departmental funds should be directed and there are some who have no idea whatsoever.

I think they could function better through a professional county manager system, he said.

Kilquist is pushing for a 911 system, which he feels is extremely important to rural areas.

It’s important because the 911 would include a mapping system which would allow the Sheriff’s Department to locate a call by computer, he said. The computer will know exactly where the caller is located. In the past the caller had to provide an address or police couldn’t locate the call, which in some emergencies could be fatal.

Except for the 911 emergency program he is lobbying for, Kilquist has not planned any new programs because they either cost money or take away from existing programs, he said

I’d like to see a Crime Stoppers program or a D.A.R.E. program, he said, adding that he does not currently have the time to devote to implementing these type of programs.

Recently, Carbondale City Manager Steve Hoffner proposed a beer keg registration requiring keg buyers to provide a name and address of the place the keg will be taken. Kilquist doesn’t think any such program will affect the county. He said students will just go somewhere else to buy kegs.

In 1969 Kilquist, who is from Kingston, N.Y., began working for SIUC’s Saluki Patrol. He then worked for the Sheriff’s Department for one year as dispatcher, deputy sheriff and part-time investigator. He served nine-years on the Carbondale Police Department as a patrolman, juvenile officer, tactical officer, detective and crime prevention specialist. Just before being elected sheriff in 1982, he served the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office for one year as an investigator.

Kilquist obtained an associate’s degree in correction and law enforcement from SIUC in 1974 and a bachelor’s degree in administrative justice this year. In 1987 he graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

He is married to Becky Stoltz Kilquist, who is a nurse at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. They live with their two sons in Makanda.