Preckwinkle Calls For Probe Of Teen's Death At Juvenile Detention Center

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is calling for an independent investigation into the death of a 16-year-old boy at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

Terry Bell Jr., 16, collapsed and died while playing basketball at the institution on Saturday.

He had complained of unwell and had high blood pressure Friday night but told staff at the detention center he wanted to play Saturday, his grandmother, Georgia Bell, said this past Sunday.

Bell was playing basketball at 3 p.m. Saturday when he got in an argument, authorities said. As he was being led away, he collapsed and was rushed to Stroger Hospital of Cook County, where he died shortly after 4 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. An autopsy Sunday was inconclusive, the medical examiner said.

The teen, whom Georgia Bell helped her son raise in the 1000 block of West 79th Street, had been incarcerated for four months when he died, and he took regular medication for his blood pressure, she said.

Preckwinkle says she is prepared to ask a federal judge to approve a probe of the case.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

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