Addendum 1
3/11/2026
Question 1: The current proposal submission deadline is Friday, March 27th, at 11:00 a.m. The deadline to submit questions related to the RFP is Friday, March 20th at 11:00 a.m. However, the County has not specified the date on which responses to vendor questions will be provided. These responses may contain critical information that could directly impact the structure and content of vendor proposals.
To ensure vendors have adequate time to review, analyze, and incorporate the County’s responses into their proposals, will the County please allow a minimum of five (5) business days from the date all responses to vendor questions are posted before the final proposal submission deadline?
Answer 1: Responses to vendor questions will be released as soon as possible prior to the submission deadline, however, the County cannot commit to a deadline to provide accurate responses.
Question 2: Please provide the average daily population for the last three months, broken down by month, if possible.
Answer 2: The below numbers reflect the ADP for on-site inmates. We are not including the inmates being held at McHenry County Jail in our ADP figures.
February 2026 – 483
January 2026 – 460
December 2026 – 449
Question 3: Please provide a copy of all current contracts and amendments pertaining to all services under this RFP.
Answer 3: Current contracts may be viewed by visiting our website at Lakecountypurchasingportal.com and selecting Awarded Contracts.
Question 4: How many in-pod video visitation/multi-function kiosks are currently installed at the LCJ?
Answer 4: There are no in-pod video visitation/multi-function kiosks in the pods. The inmates conduct video visits on the tablets. The only kiosks located in the pods are the commissary kiosks.
Question 5: How many public user video visitation kiosks are currently installed at the LCJ?
Answer 5: There are no public video visitation kiosks available to the public. The public conducts video visitations off-site on their own personal devices.
Question 6: How many officer tablet devices are currently available in the LCJ?
Answer 6: Officer tablets are offered on a 1:1 ratio per pod. Currently there are 16 Officer tablets.
Question 7: "The “Video Visitation System” section located on page #11 of the RFP states, “Since COVID, LCJ has eliminated all on-site visiting and has in place given one free 30-minute remote visit per week. Currently, video visits are conducted on the inmate tablets, and they are able to bring the tablets into their individual cells.” Following RFP section labeled “Equipment” features the following requirement, “1. In your RFP response, please provide the details of the turn-key visitation phone recording and monitoring system that you propose to implement in our jail at no cost to LCJ…” Will the County please clarify this requirement by providing the following information:
a). Does the LCJ require vendors to furnish and install telephone handsets to facilitate on-site/audio only visitation sessions? If so, how many telephone handsets does the LCJ require?"
Answer 7: No, we do not allow any on-site visitation/calls for the public. All calls and video visitation by the public are done off-site on their own private devices.
Question 8: The “Video Visitation System” section on page 11 of the RFP states: “Remote visits currently cost $5.00 for thirty (30) minutes and there is no limit on how many remote visits can be scheduled.” This equates to an effective rate of approximately $0.167 per minute for remote video visitation. However, Exhibit C of the RFP lists the remote VVS service rate as $0.25 per minute.
Will the County please confirm the current per-minute rate being charged for remote video visitation sessions?"
Answer 8: The current Video Visitation Rate is $0.25/minute.
Question 9: Are you being invoiced for any services provided by the current vendor? If so, please describe.
Answer 9: No, this is a zero-dollar contract. In the past when we ordered earbuds, we would be invoiced for that, and it was paid out of Inmate Welfare.
Question 10: Please provide details about any commission, cost reimbursement, technology grants, signing bonuses, or any other compensation they receive from the current vendor.
Answer 10: All compensation and commission details can be found in Exhibit A.
Question 11: What limits does the County place, if any, on use of the services in this RFP such as maximum number of ITS calls, onsite visits allowed per week (or other interval), remote visits per week, calls per week, minutes per call/visit, etc?
Answer 11: There are no limits set. We do not allow on-site visits for family/friends.
Question 12: RFP Exhibit C, located on page 45, states: “Inmates currently receive one (1) free five (5) minute phone call per week.” Will the County please confirm whether vendors will be required to continue providing each inmate with one (1) free five-minute phone call per week under the new contract?
Answer 12: It is not required, but it is preferred.
Question 13: Section “Minimum Requirements and Specifications” on pages 7–8 of the RFP states: “LCJ does not want funding fees for any trust fund deposits, phone calls, messages, video visitation, or tablet purchase/rental. This includes, but is not limited to, trust fund deposits through any channel and for any deposit tier, depositing funds into an inmate’s debit account/prepaid phone account, setting up a video visitation account, and turning a community tablet into an assigned personal tablet.”
However, subsection “3. Kiosk Key Terms and Conditions,” item “b. Consumer Fees” on page 16 states: “LCJ realizes that the successful proposer will charge transaction fees.”
These statements appear to be contradictory. Will the County please clarify whether vendors are permitted to charge any consumer transaction or processing fees associated with deposits, communications services, video visitation, or tablet-related services? If transaction or processing fees are allowed, please specify which types of transactions fees may be applied to.
Answer 13: We cannot tell vendors what to propose or where to allocate their fees if they choose to include them in the submission. From LCJ’s perspective, we acknowledge that some vendors will choose to include fees in their proposal although it is not preferred. Subsection 3 should read: “LCJ realizes that the successful proposer may charge transaction fees”.
Question 14: After the first round of questions is answered, will the County accept additional questions if clarification is needed for any of the County’s responses?
Answer 14: Yes
Question 15: The RFP specifies that officers must be equipped with tablets. Could the County please clarify the operational purpose for requiring tablets? Additionally, would the County consider a fully web-based solution that provides equivalent functionality without the need for vendor-provided tablets?
Answer 15: The operational purpose for Officer tablets is to have remote control over the inmate tablets. For example, if an inmate loses tablet privilege for an hour, the Officer can lock the inmate’s account from the Officer tablet. LCJ would accept eliminating Officer tablets if there is a method to control inmate tablets through an online platform.
Question 16: The RFP indicates that vendors must provide a cash kiosk for deposits. If a vendor offers alternative secure methods for submitting cash deposits, would the County accept these as an alternative to providing a physical cash kiosk?
Answer 16: We’re open to alternative options for submitting cash deposits.
Question 17: Is LCJ looking to relocate existing equipment locations or replace equipment in existing locations?
Answer 17: We are not looking to relocate any equipment.
Question 18: What tablet capability is required in the Booking area?
Answer 18: There are no tablets in Booking. Inmates do not have access to tablets until they are booked into a pod.
Question 19: Are video visitations conducted on kiosks or tablets only?
Answer 19: Video visitations are held on tablets only. We do not have any kiosks for video.
Question 20: Is cellular communication required in cells?
Answer 20: Yes, the inmates must be able to use the tablets in their cells for calls.
Question 21: Are the free phones in Booking recorded?
Answer 21: Yes, all phones in booking are recorded.
Question 22: Is visitation held on-site?
Answer 22: All visitation is held virtually and off-site via the tablets with the exception of attorneys. The public uses their own personal electronic devices to log in to the video visit.
Question 23: Does LCJ need the phones relocated in the pods are do you want to just replace existing equipment?
Answer 23: No, we do not need any equipment relocated.
Question 24: Are attorney visits conducted on site?
Answer 24: Yes, attorneys are allowed on-site for visits through glass with the inmates. There is no phone required by the glass separators for the inmate and attorney to communicate.
Question 25: Are the pods all the same 2-story style?
Answer 25: No, Pods 1E, 2E, 2W, and Medical are all single-story units.
Question 26: Is there a secure drop ceiling to run conduit if needed?
Answer 26: Yes
Question 27: Are special provisions required for medical or disciplinary housing units (e.g., rolling carts, wall mounts, etc.)?
Answer 27: The Medical unit currently has wall mounts. The wall mounts are not required, and we would be open to a rolling cart if needed. There is no special provision for disciplinary housing units.
3/16/2026
Question 28: Can the County consider an initial contract term longer than one year?
Answer 28: Lake County would consider an initial contract term of two (2) years.
Question 29: The RFP requires that inmates be able to conduct video visits using tablets. However, the Wiring Matrix in Exhibit B lists 36 kiosk locations. Does the County want kiosks in any of these locations, and if so, how many? Or is the intention to use tablets exclusively for video visitation and other digital activities
Answer 29: The intention is to use tablets exclusively for video visitation and other digital activities. We are not interested in having wall mounted kiosks for video visitation. The Exhibit listed the kiosk locations because the wiring is still there from old technology.
Question 30: RFP p. 14 #20 states, “Vendor shall provide as many officer tablets as needed that have total control of inmate tablets.” If the system provides secure web-based access from any internet-capable device, are officer tablets still needed?
Answer 30: If a web-based solution is provided, the Officer tablets are no longer required.
Question 31: Requirements o and p under “Investigative Software” on p. 11 require “location-based services” and for the vendor to “Identify the geographical location of cell phones…” This technology has recently fallen under legal scrutiny for invasion of privacy is no longer widely available in the ITS industry. Will the County remove this requirement?
Answer 31: We understand that there are certain investigative features that are being challenged. We do not view this feature as a requirement but in your response please mark in the ‘Exceptions’ section that this feature is not provided.
Question 32: Please provide the fee structure for all Trust Fund deposit methods.
Answer 32: The only fees for deposits are credit card processing fees issued by our current vendor. There is no commission. Below are the credit card processing fees:
- Trust: 3.5%
- Self-Release: 5.0%
- Advance Pay: 2.5%
Question 33: Does the County currently receive a commission on Trust Fund deposits? If so, please provide the details for the commission structure.
Answer 33: No, we do not receive commission on any deposits. We only receive commission for actual minutes used on phones and tablets.