By C1 Staff
COOK COUNTY, Ill. — Calling it “stupidity of the highest order,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart wants to clean out inmates who are serving time on what he believes to be banal charges.
A man accused of stealing two Snickers bars sat in the jail for 114 days, while a pregnant woman accused of stealing plums and candy still remains behind bars awaiting trial, according to the Beverly-Mtgreengood Patch. Together, they cost the county $36,000.
Dart is looking to speed up a justice system that takes too much time to process those who are accused of petty crime. He’s proposed legislation to expedite retail theft and trespassing cases.
While that’s being considered, Dart says that jail staff will identify five to 10 inmates every week that don’t belong in jail. Dart wants to enlist public defenders and prosecutors to speed up those cases.
“Are we protecting society? No. Are we rehabilitating them? No,” he said, noting “the outrageous amounts of money we spend incarcerating the wrong people.”