Preckwinkle assigns staff member to monitor morgue

The head of the Cook County Board has assigned a senior staff member to the Cook County medical examiner’s office after recent reports of problems there.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that a large number of bodies had stacked up at the morgue.

Officials acknowledged a problem and said the office was over capacity. Chief medical examiner Dr. Nancy Jones Nancy Jones said staff would try to reduce the number and get the bodies buried quickly.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle says her staff has learned about a “series of issues” and “ongoing management issues.” She says a senior staff member will be at the medical examiner’s officer every day.

Preckwinkle says financial woes may have been a contributing factor to the problems.