Cook County’s troubled Juvenile Temporary Detention Center will be back in federal court this morning. Attorneys are trying to hash out a deal to bring in a private security group to help with staffing.
Earl Dunlap, the detention center’s administrator, says the center’s in a crisis because it’s operating without 30 percent of its staff. So he wants to hire a private security firm to work the night shift and move current workers to other tasks.
Neither Cook County or the American Civil Liberties Union, which are associated with the center, do not oppose Dunlap’s plan. But the union representing many of the center’s staffers questioned Dunlap in a hearing last week about making changes to its collective bargaining agreement.
Federal Judge John Nordberg encouraged all sides to negotiate outside of court, but attorneys say they’ve reach an impasse. An attorney for Teamsters Local 714 told Nordberg he wants to call at least one witness to testify in today’s hearing.