Guards' Super Bowl sick call blitz
threatens to lock down Chicago jail
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[February 04, 2017]
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Employees at one
of the largest U.S. jails would rather watch the big game than the big
house, raising concerns with a Chicago-area sheriff that an annual
problem with Super Bowl fever could force a lockdown on Sunday.
As the New England Patriots prepare to play the Atlanta Falcons in the
National Football League's championship game in Houston, officials in
the Cook County Sheriff's Office said they are telephoning guards who in
years past have called in sick on Super Bowl Sunday. The Super Bowl is
the most heavily watched show on television every year.
"For the safety of our staff and the inmates, it’s important that we
have adequate staffing levels at the jail," Samuel Randall, a spokesman
for the sheriff's office, which runs the jail, said by email.
"Though there’s only so much the sheriff’s office can do, we’ve taken
steps to minimize call-ins by contacting more than 300 correctional
officers who have missed two or more Super Bowl Sundays," he added.
Hundreds of employees at Chicago's Cook County Jail called in sick for
last year's Super Bowl Sunday, forcing a facility that houses some 7,400
inmates to be locked down due to lack of staff, said Cara Smith, the
chief policy officer for the Cook County Sheriff. More than 100 were
no-shows during the day shift, and another 128 skipped the afternoon
shift, accounting for around 25 percent of staff.
When staffing levels fall too low, all unnecessary movement of inmates
is restricted, she said.
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![](../images/020417pics/news_J17.jpg)
Cook County correctional officers enter the maximum security part of
the jail in Chicago February 12, 2006. REUTERS/Frank Polich/File
Photo
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"Occasionally a high-profile boxing match will give us a run for our
money, but the Super Bowl has been a consistent day when we see
these issues," Smith said.
(This version of the story has been refiled to correct job title in
paragraph five)
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(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Bill Rigby)
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