Chief Judge Orders Outside Investigation Into Cook County Probation Department
From the Chicago Tribune
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans on Wednesday hired a well-known law firm to investigate allegations that the court’s probation department has improperly teamed up on searches of probationers’ homes with Chicago police and the FBI.
Evans’ decision to bring in an outside law firm is the result of a Tribune investigation published Wednesday that found the Adult Probation Department for years has quietly worked with law enforcement to go into probationers' homes without warrants, looking for guns, drugs and information and leading to questionable and illegal searches.
Their actions, in some cases, had triggered accusations that drugs were planted, money was stolen and probationers were threatened with jail if they refused to become informants for Chicago police and the FBI.
Evans, in a statement, said any evidence of illegal conduct would be turned over to the proper authorities.
“I am outraged by these allegations which, if true, could be considered a blatant disregard of constitutional rights,” Evans said. “It is the responsibility of the probation officers to safeguard the rights of probationers at all times by ensuring appropriate policies and procedures are followed.”
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans on Wednesday hired a well-known law firm to investigate allegations that the court’s probation department has improperly teamed up on searches of probationers’ homes with Chicago police and the FBI.
Evans’ decision to bring in an outside law firm is the result of a Tribune investigation published Wednesday that found the Adult Probation Department for years has quietly worked with law enforcement to go into probationers' homes without warrants, looking for guns, drugs and information and leading to questionable and illegal searches.
Their actions, in some cases, had triggered accusations that drugs were planted, money was stolen and probationers were threatened with jail if they refused to become informants for Chicago police and the FBI.
Evans, in a statement, said any evidence of illegal conduct would be turned over to the proper authorities.
“I am outraged by these allegations which, if true, could be considered a blatant disregard of constitutional rights,” Evans said. “It is the responsibility of the probation officers to safeguard the rights of probationers at all times by ensuring appropriate policies and procedures are followed.”
Read more in our daily News Update...