Troubled juvenile detention center in spotlight at Cook County Board meeting by Matthew Blake
To read this article on the Daily Whale website, click here.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved on Wednesday a one-year contract extension for security services at the county’s Juvenile Temporary Detention Center despite vocal opposition from a handful of commissioners and broader questions about the facility, which is under federal control.
Commissioners approved by voice vote a $2.2 million extension of its contract with Jupiter, Fla.-based G4S Secure Solutions Inc., known as the Wackenhut Corporation until 2010. The contract is for security, “including night watch, … direct residential supervision and emergency staffing,” according to the county ordinance. The Florida-based company has snared $15.5 million in county money for security services since 2008, when a federal judge put the detention center under the helm of transitional administrator Earl Dunlap.