Through the use of aggressive strategies and widespread testing, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office was able to successfully mitigate the spread of COVID-19 inside the Cook County Jail, according to a new study.

As the number of COVID-19 cases decline at the Cook County Jail, Sheriff Tom Dart announced Monday he would resume allowing in-person family visits for detainees for the first time in months.

The Cook County sheriff is challenging a federal court order that outlines how his office must combat COVID-19 at the Cook County Jail, and called ongoing efforts by activists to get more detainees out of the jail a “waste of resources.”

Sheriff Tom Dart informed Cook County court and elected officials in a letter Thursday that his office has “no additional equipment to assign” after the electronic monitoring program saw a 30% surge in recent months.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says an expected summer spike in the jail’s detainee population could “upend the delicately balanced housing arrangements currently in place.”

The number of detainees within the Cook County Jail is reaching historic lows during the COVID-19 pandemic. But as that number drops, the number of those being held on electronic monitoring devices has steadily risen.

A federal judge will decide whether social distancing and other preventive measures ordered at the Cook County Jail are being properly instituted following calls from criminal justice advocates for additional precautions.

Sheila Rivera, 47, had worked with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office since 2012. Rivera and another corrections officer died Sunday. Officials are awaiting autopsy results to see if his death was related to COVID-19.

Defending his office’s COVID-19 testing and isolation procedures, the Cook County sheriff said Wednesday he took action to prevent the spread of the virus earlier than any other sheriff in the country.

Sheriff Tom Dart’s office said it has begun complying with a court order mandating additional protective measures inside the Cook County Jail, but it estimates its supply of surgical masks for detainees and employees will run out in “six to seven more days.”

The Cook County sheriff must begin implementing additional sanitation and precaution measures at the jail, but a federal judge rejected calls for the release of large numbers of detainees.

Nearly 40 detainees have so far tested positive for the virus at Cook County Jail. Officials on Friday discussed those rapidly changing circumstances and said they’re working to “safely” reduce the detainee population.

The number of Cook County Jail detainees who have tested positive for COVID-19 nearly tripled between Wednesday morning and evening, according to the sheriff’s office, which has now tested 50 individuals who have begun exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

Leticia Ruiz says the Cook County sheriff failed to protect her son from a reputed gang member who allegedly beat him to death inside the jail earlier this month, and that the “vicious and violent” beating was avoidable.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is warning residents about a sophisticated phone scam in which an unsolicited caller claims to be a representative from Apple, Inc.

“The Sheriff’s Office has won praise for progressive reforms to improve and maintain the safety and security of all those housed and employed at the Cook County Jail,” says Tom Dart. Learn more about this candidate.