Cook County to Hire More Guards

By Kevin Robinson in News on Mar 3, 2010 3:20PM

As part of an on-going effort to get out from under the glare of federal court supervision, Cook County will hire more than 600 new jail guards by next Spring, the Tribune reports. A report filed by the U.S. Department of Justice last year concluded "that the jail has failed to adequately protect inmates from harm and serious risk of harm, including physical harm caused by inappropriate and excessive force used by staff and violence by other inmates; failed to provide adequate medical and mental health care, including suicide prevention; and failed to provide adequate environmental conditions, including fire safety and sanitation, all resulting in unconstitutional living conditions."

In order to satisfy the agreement between the county and the federal government, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart will have to hire almost 450 new guards this year, and almost 200 by this time next year. As part of the agreement, attorneys in two class-action lawsuits against the jail will drop their claims, which are decades old. The county will also agree to other measures to improve conditions in the jail, including documenting all injuries caused by use of force.