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.”
Tom Dart
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.
Sheriff's Office also awaiting autopsy results of second officer who died Sunday
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.
By Wednesday evening, 17 detainees had tested positive
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.
“This crisis touches the lives of so many – almost everyone knows someone struggling with an opioid addiction,” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. “I hope this podcast opens eyes and minds to how easily an opioid addiction can happen and how hard it can be to stop.”
“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,” Thomas Dart writes. Learn more about this candidate.
Cook County Jail wasn’t designed to be a psychiatric facility, but it’s turned into one of the largest mental health institutions in the country, says Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.
With the repeal of the soda tax, Cook County officials are now searching for ways to erase a $200 million shortfall in next year’s county budget.
