Bed Bugs Found At Cook County Juvenile Court Complex
Updated 10/24/12 - 10:14 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bed bugs at the Cook County Juvenile Courthouse have prompted officials to bring in the exterminators.
"You could smell insecticide," a lawyer on a case Wednesday at the courthouse told WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller.
The attorney said things weren't quite as they usually are at the complex that houses both the Juvenile Courthouse and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.
"I observed a state's attorney with a can of Black Flag bed bug killer, putting it in her briefcase," he said. "The clerk's office for the Neglect Division was closed."
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller Reports
Podcast
The lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, said there was a little bit of chaos - but it was controlled chaos, because the clerk's office was helpful.
A spokeswoman for the Circuit Court Clerk's office said it was in "full operation."
Larry Grazian, director of policy initiatives at the child protection division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, said, "Bed bugs had been found in or near the clerk's file room. Access to where they were found was limited. They weren't even sending employees in, only managers."
"They said they were taking steps, first to stop the bedbugs from spreading anywhere else - and exterminating in the area," Grazian added. "Facilities management seems to be on top of it. They seem to be taking both the public and the employees into account in minimizing risk."
However, a court reporter at the Juvenile Courthouse said the bugs were not just contained to the clerk's office, and employees have seen them in other parts of the building. She said some of the conference rooms have "DO NOT ENTER" signs posted outside of their doors, and she believes the bed bugs are spreading, because case files are being moved from courtroom to courtroom.
