Two Cook County Judges Test Positive For Coronavirus

CHICAGO (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has reached the bench in Cook County for the first time.

In a news release on Thursday morning, the office of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans announced that two judges in the courthouse in suburban Bridgeview tested positive for COVID-19. The release did not provide any details about the judges or their conditions.

According to the release, an employee of the adult probation department also tested positive, bringing to 39 the number of county court employees who have tested positive. The release also said that another resident of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center has also tested positive, bringing the number of residents to test positive to 15.

The county's criminal justice system has been hit hard by the pandemic, particularly the County Jail where hundreds of detainees and correctional officers have tested positive and seven detainees and two correctional officers have died.

At the Chicago Police Department, 521 sworn officers and 30 civilian employees have tested positive for the virus, and three officers who tested positive have died, according to the most recent department statistics.

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