Daily News investigates Sheriff's Office hiring

PRESS RELEASE

COOK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE HIRES DEPUTIES WITH CRIMINAL BACKGROUNDS, INVESTIGATION SHOWS

CHICAGO, March 9 –A Chi-Town Daily News investigation shows the Cook County Sheriff’s Office has hired nearly two dozen law enforcement officers with records of prior misconduct, including criminal offenses and serious disciplinary infractions at other police jobs.

The Daily News investigation found the Sheriff’s Office hiring policies are far more permissive than those of other large law enforcement agencies, which typically bar hiring candidates with serious criminal offenses in their past.

The investigation also found the Sheriff’s Office hiring may, in some cases, violate state law requiring law enforcement officers to be of good moral character.

Among those employed by the Sheriff’s Office:

• Reynaldo Jara, who pleaded guilty to felony drug possession after police saw him jump a CTA turnstile and found five packets of cocaine and nearly three ounces of marijuana in his backpack.
• Andrew Jeleniewski, fired from the Homewood Police Department after he was accused of sexually assaulting a female motorist during a traffic stop.
• Kevin Barrales, who pleaded guilty to a Cook County battery case and was charged in a second case in Missouri.
• Jesus Barajas, who pleaded guilty to illegally carrying a loaded revolver in his car, and was hired by the Sheriff’s Office while still serving his sentence.

The Daily News special report on the Sheriff’s Office was written by Daily News editor Geoff Dougherty, who is available for interviews on the subject. The article is available on the Daily News website: www.chitowndailynews.org.

The Chi-Town Daily News is a non-profit local news website operated by PublicMedia, Inc.