Cook County Jail

More than 2,600 people have been in custody at the Cook County Jail or at home on electronic monitoring for more than a year as a massive backlog of felony cases has piled up at the Cook County Circuit Court.

Inmates at the Cook County Jail who’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine can welcome visitors in person starting Sunday, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday, citing declining infection rates and a low number of positive cases. In-person visits were suspended at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, but in June resumed at an outdoor location at the...

Authorities at Cook County Jail are searching for coronavirus clues in the unlikeliest of places: the sewers. “You know, I wanted to get as far out front of determining what the positivity rrate was in the jail,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart told NBC5. “It’s just a proactive thing that I really wanted to do.” The process is complex,...

The Cook County sheriff’s office announced Sunday it will be suspending in-person visits at the Cook County Jail in hopes of warding off another coronavirus outbreak as cases rise across the county. The suspension is effective Monday, the sheriff’s office announced, citing the rising case numbers as well as the stay-at-home advisory issued Thursday for Chicago and suburban Cook County. “For...

Most of the three-quarters of a million people held in U.S. jails have the right to vote

Earlier this year the Cook County Jail was a hotspot of new coronavirus cases, but today the CDC is crediting the facility for a big turnaround to keep inmates and employees safe. NBC 5’s Charlie Wojciechowski reports.

Inmate releases have begun at Cook County Jail as officials look to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. NBC 5’s Christian Farr has the story.

Fewer people have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past month at Cook County Jail, officials announced Friday. The rate of positive COVID-19 tests has gone from 97% to less than 10% since March, Cook County Health officials said in a statement. Since May 8, most of the new cases have come from detainees entering the jail, rather than…

A detainee accused of buying his way out of Cook County Jail and leading authorities on a week-long manhunt has committed an offense that “cuts directly to the integrity of the judicial system,” Judge David Navarro said Monday.

The FBI is offering a $2000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a detainee who escaped the Cook County Jail by disguising himself as another inmate.

A seventh detainee at Cook County Jail has died from apparent complications related to the coronavirus. William Sobczyk, 53, died Monday at Stroger Hospital, where he had been hospitalized since April 18 after developing complications from COVID-19, the Cook County sheriff’s office said in a statement. An autopsy found he died of pneumonia and a COVID-19 infection, with hypertension and…

A detainee escaped from Cook County Jail over the weekend after disguising himself as another detainee about to be discharged, authorities say. Jahquez Scott allegedly promised to pay Quintin Henderson $1,000 to agree to let him steal his identity to secure release, according to Cook County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari. The alleged plot took place the evening of May…

A Cook County sheriff’s deputy has died from complications due to COVID-19, the sheriff’s office said in a statement Sunday. Deputy Richard O’Brien was a 25-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and had been working on assignment in the Civil Process Division in Skokie despite being diagnosed with leukemia in January. “Our hearts are broken over the loss of...

A correctional officer at the Cook County Jail has died of the coronavirus. Sheila Rivera, 47, is possibly the first correctional officer at the jail to die of the disease, according to a statement from the Cook County sheriff’s office. Rivera died Sunday evening at Resurrection Medical Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Rivera had worked as...

Family and friends on Monday remembered a Cook County correctional officer who died from the coronavirus. NBC 5’s Lexi Sutter shares their story.

A forth detainee at Cook County Jail has died after contracting the coronavirus, officials announced Sunday. Karl Battiste, 64, was pronounced dead Sunday at Stroger Hospital, where he had been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. A ruling on the cause and manner of his death was pending an autopsy, the…

More than 180 detainees and more than 200 correctional officers at the Cook County Jail are currently dealing with the novel coronavirus after testing positive for the disease, officials said Wednesday. As of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 181 detainees at Cook County Jail are currently dealing with COVID-19 symptoms, according to the Department of Corrections. Officials say 18 of…

A detainee at Cook County Jail attacked three jail guards Tuesday — seriously injuring one — while stealing a guard’s keys to let out other detainees in the maximum security block. The Cook County sheriff’s office said it is seeking charges against two detainees — one of whom is being held on attempted murder of a police officer — in…

A third detainee at Cook County Jail in Chicago has died after contracting COVID-19, officials announced Sunday, with hundreds of others infected by the coronavirus at one of the nation’s largest jails. Nicholas Lee, 42, was pronounced dead Sunday at Stroger Hospital, where he had been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said in...