128 Chicago Jail Workers Called Out Sick for Super Bowl: Documents

A total of 128 workers reported ill to Cook County Jail on Super Bowl Sunday – about a third more than a typical day of sick calls, NBC5 Investigates has found.

It comes after NBC5 Investigates found that seven of the top 10 sick days at the Cook County Jail, one of the largest county jails in the country, happened either the day of or the day after a major televised sporting event.

Over the past year, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office has blamed excessive sick calls at the jail for several lockdowns — and the office has speculated publicly that some of the absenteeism appears to be connected to high-profile sporting events, such as the Super Bowl.

But a spokesman at Teamsters Local 700, which represents jail employees, says it isn't so, claiming jail workers are being unfairly blamed for taking well-earned and much-needed time off.

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