Saturday, October 7, 2017

Why is the sheriff negotiating $3.25 million settlements?

Sheriff Tom Dart wants to fire 9 employees after inmate assaulted at courthouse and pay out $3.25 million. 


Shouldn't the States Attorney be the one negotiating with litigants? Pre-litigation settlement? What does that mean? Is Dart using county money or his own money? Are any other county officials aware of this "settlement"?

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart wants to fire nine sheriff’s office employees he claims allowed a female detainee to be sexually assaulted by two male detainees in a holding cell at the Markham Courthouse.
In an apparent breach of protocol, the female inmate ended up in a cell with the two men on May 2. The male inmates later told guards they had been placed in the holding area and the female inmate threatened them with a syringe and demanded sex; the female inmate claimed the men instigated the sexual encounter, a source told the Chicago Sun-Times.
No syringe was found, and the Markham Courthouse does not have surveillance cameras.
The sheriff’s office asked Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to investigate the what happened in the holding area just outside a courtroom. Prosecutors later charged the male detainees, Hamidullah Tribble, 21, and Nelon Drake, 29, with criminal sexual assault.
Dart also launched an internal investigation, and five employees–two deputies, two sergeants and a lieutenant who were on duty in the courtroom at the time–were reassigned to new posts while the Office of Professional Review investigated, Smith said.
“The question that is subject of our investigation: Where were the people that were supposed to be there, and what were they doing?” Smith said.
Dart on Friday announced he wants the nine employees terminated, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office also announced it has “reached, in principle, a pre-litigation settlement of all claims with the victim for $3.25 million.”
A series of reforms has also been implemented “to ensure the protection of all detainees, including mandating deputies assigned to any area of a courthouse without fixed cameras wear body-worn cameras, assigning additional trained supervisors to the Markham Courthouse, and comprehensive unannounced security audits of all court facilities,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff’s officials are looking to add security cameras in the courtroom lockups.
“Ideally, there are cameras on every corner of our whole system, but we’re not there yet,” Smith said, noting deputies should have been just a few feet away from the holding cell at all times. “(But) cameras don’t take the place of highly trained staff doing what they’re supposed to be doing.”
There are some 2,400 cameras throughout the main Cook County Jail complex, as well as cameras in lockup in the basement of each district courthouse, but none in the tiny holding cells in individual courtrooms at the branch court house, Smith said.
Tribble was being held on a $100,000 bond on charges of aggravated kidnapping of a child, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and unlawful restraint, according to prosecutors. Drake was being held without bond on a first-degree murder charge, and a separate case in which he was charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful restraint.

27 comments:

  1. Anonymous10/07/2017

    Time for term limits?

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    1. Anonymous10/07/2017

      Murph, you are forgetting that the sheriff has almost as many layers on his payroll as the SA. They are experienced and competent. I'm sure Dart has more confidence in them that he does the SA.

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    2. Anonymous10/07/2017

      Aint the county board have to vote on this.

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  2. Anonymous10/07/2017

    Tommy boy is blaming everyone but himself. At some point he has to look in the mirror.

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    1. Anonymous10/07/2017

      Perhaps Dart should hold himself responsible for what happened.

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  3. Anonymous10/07/2017

    The question I ask is why the hell is this guy the sheriff?

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    1. Anonymous10/07/2017

      The Joyces made him. I bet they're sorry now.

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  4. Anonymous10/07/2017

    Take a chance at trial.

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  5. Just keep the soda pop tax. Then it's not a problem.

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  6. Anonymous10/07/2017

    $3,000,000 is a bargain when you consider what happened. If it goes to trial, she may get $30,000,000 or even $300,000,000. I thing dart did the right thing. Cook County is getting off cheap.

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    1. Anonymous10/07/2017

      IF it goes to trial...and sorry $30 mill would be ridiculous..and $300 million is insane. You are either really uninformed...or more likely just trying to cover for Barney Fife...I mean Tommy Dart.

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    2. Anonymous10/07/2017

      Sorry, I think 3.25 million to this type of victim is ridiculous.

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  7. Anonymous10/07/2017

    I really miss detective shaved. he told it how it was regarding dart. has this guy dart ever did anything constructive or competently is his miserable life, just saying.

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    1. Anonymous10/07/2017

      I agree. I miss shaver and mr Aldo !!!!!

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  8. Anonymous10/07/2017

    What? The Sheriff isn't his brother's keeper? Now if these guys were tossing feces at the correctional officers instead of getting their knobs polished, Dart would have the pizza crew from 26th Street throwing a party for them. As for the victim, what was she in for? This fucking sheriff has got to go.

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  9. Anonymous10/07/2017

    Does anybody remember the case of John Maher? He was an officer in the Army reserve and on Darts payroll. Got mobilized and sent to Afghanistan for a year. Came back to work and Dart fired him. He sued. Dart quietly settled the case. I wonder how much he got.

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    1. Anonymous10/09/2017

      $1,700,000 Cook county worked hard to keep it quite.

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  10. Anonymous10/07/2017

    Cook County has Mike & Skinny Sheahan to thank for Tommy Dart's rise to Sheriff. Thanks a lot Mike.

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  11. Anonymous10/07/2017

    Make officers work in cpd no tipping section at BOURBON STREET

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  12. Anonymous10/07/2017

    Thomas G. Dart, the most progressive and greatest sheriff in America.

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    1. Anonymous10/08/2017

      You’ve been at hinky dunks way to long buddy. Time to head home and beat the fat wife.

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    2. Anonymous10/08/2017

      His middle initial stands for goodness.

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  13. Anonymous10/08/2017

    Tom dart the most useless sheriff ever, the thug, deadbeat tenant and illegal aliens best friend.

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  14. Anonymous10/08/2017

    kickbacks............

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  15. Anonymous10/09/2017

    Has anyone ever seen Tom Dart shoot a gun or actually wear a Sheriffs uniform, is he a certified Peace officer?

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    1. Anonymous10/09/2017

      No. He's a bitch!!!

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  16. Anonymous10/10/2017

    This settlement has to be approved by the county board. And no they don't want it to go to trial because through the discovery process we will see just how mismanaged the sheriff's office is. Corruption run rampant. This office needs to be investigated by the feds.

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