Sheriff Looking Into Mass Sick Calls Behind Mother's Day Lockdown At Cook County Jail
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A lockdown was lifted at Cook County jail on Monday, a day after a huge wave of sick day call-ins on Mother's Day, and Sheriff Tom Dart said he's trying to determine if any of those who missed work should be disciplined.
Dart's office said 424 corrections officers and supervisors – more than 20 percent of the jail staff scheduled to work on Sunday – called in sick over the three shifts covering Mother's Day. That was nearly double the number of sick calls on Monday, when there were 218 employees who took a sick or personal day.
"When they don't show up, obviously we can't just have the inmates go home and say 'Make it back on Monday,'" Dart said.
The sheriff said mass sick day call-ins happen a couple times a year. He has personnel people looking for patterns in employees calling in sick, so they can be talked to or disciplined, if necessary.
"We track people, and we track patterns; not just people, but also certain people are they taking the day off before their regular days off? Are they taking days historically off before holidays?" he said.
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Dart said such incidents put an extra strain on the jail, its inmates, and its employees.
"We have to use overtime, we have to do a lockdown, but then we also have to require certain employees – the good ones, who showed up – they have to stay for an entire additional 8-hour shift," he said.
During a lockdown, inmates are only allowed to leave their cells for medical reasons, visitations, and emergencies, and discharges.
Sunday's lockdown cost more than $75,000 in overtime, according to the sheriff's office.
"It really lets everyone down, and at the end the taxpayers get stuck with the bill," Dart said.
The lockdown was lifted Monday morning, when staffing returned to normal for the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift.
