Court filing extends Monroe County jail settlement deadline to May 29, 2026

Update: “This is an agreement proposed by the ACLU, must be approved by ACLU, the Sheriff and the BoC,” said Angie Purdie in a note to the Bloomingtonian.

Staff report

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — April 14, 2026

A new federal court filing says Monroe County officials are still trying to determine how to move forward on replacing the county jail, while seeking more time to keep a long-running private settlement agreement in place. The filing also references longstanding concerns that the current jail is unsafe and unable to meet constitutional requirements, and shows the plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Indiana.

In an agreed motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court, the parties asked to extend the private settlement agreement and the deadline to move to dismiss the case until May 29, 2026. The current deadline had been April 15.

The filing says plaintiffs’ counsel had raised concerns earlier this year that, despite years of studies and reports finding the existing Monroe County Jail unsafe and unable to meet constitutional requirements, little progress had been made toward fixing the problems.

According to the motion, the Monroe County Commissioners have decided a new jail should be built and have identified property for it, but the Monroe County Council previously rejected that site because the broader project — which included a criminal justice complex with courts and offices — was too expensive. County representatives have since met with the property owner and are now pursuing a deal focused only on building a jail, not the larger justice complex, at least for now.

“This is an agreement proposed by the ACLU, must be approved by ACLU, the Sheriff and the BoC,” said Angie Purdie, Administrator for the Monroe County Board of Commissioners.

The motion says the commissioners intend to approve a purchase agreement for the property before the end of April, after which the agreement would go to the County Council for possible approval at its May 12 or May 26 meeting.

If the council approves the purchase, plaintiffs would agree to extend the settlement until the new jail is built and approved for occupancy by the Indiana Department of Correction, with benchmark deadlines to be proposed along the way. If the council does not approve the purchase agreement, plaintiffs’ counsel anticipates seeking dismissal of the settlement agreement, which could open the door to new litigation over conditions at the current jail.

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