SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND)– The Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center is reopening after more than a year. The facility had been shut down after an armed teenager took another juvenile hostage and was killed by police officers in the fall of 2023.

Kent Holsopple, the Director of Probation and Court Services, said Sangamon County worked closely with the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts to reopen the Juvenile Detention Center.

“With the new security measures in place, including the use a body scanner, and adequate staffing levels the Administrative Office gave approval for Sangamon County to begin accepting juveniles who meet criteria for detention. Over the next 45 to 60 days as we proceed with the reopening we will work toward bringing juveniles currently being held in other counties back to Sangamon County,” Holsopple said in a statement.

The facility has already undergone hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations. However, the county was not able to hire enough corrections officers to staff the center.

Sangamon County’s Board had approved a contract with Lake County Detention Center to temporarily house juvenile inmates, while their facility remained closed.

While Sangamon County works to return inmates from Lake County, and other facilities, three juveniles are now being detained in Springfield.