Jail inmate charged with trying to hire hit man

A Cook County jail inmate has been accused of trying to hire someone to kill a witness in his case.

The sheriff's department says 37-year-old George Krueger of Blue Island was arrested Thursday at the jail on charges of solicitation of murder and solicitation of murder for hire.

Krueger has been in jail since August on charges of telephone harassment, criminal trespass and criminal damage to property. The sheriff's department says investigators learned of the plot in September.

An undercover officer posing as a hit man met at the jail with Krueger, who offered him $3,000 to $4,000 for the killing, authorities said.

Prosecutors say a judge set Krueger's bail at $250,000 at a hearing Friday. It was not immediately known if he had retained an attorney.