Richland County seeks grant to pay bulk of car cost

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Richland County Board approved having the sheriff's department apply for a grant for a new squad car during its monthly meeting.

The grant would be through Illinois Criminal Justice Authority and would pay 75 percent of the cost of a new vehicle while the county would be responsible for the remaining 25 percent.

Sheriff Andy Hires said the county is eligible for the grant but that he knows that the money is not in his budget.

Chairman Leo Ledeker said that if the county could get a new squad car 75 percent paid from another source, "we'd be crazy not to take it."

Hires said the sheriff's department has nine squad vehicles, four of which have more than 100,000 miles on them. One of those squads has more than 180,000 miles on it.