Sex offenders must check in with sheriff’s office

Registered sex offenders living in unincorporated parts of Cook County will be required to check in with police on Halloween, according to a news release issued Sunday by Sheriff Tom Dart.

Throughout the day Monday, the sex offenders must check in at one of five sheriff’s offices — Skokie, Markham, Leyden Township, Maywood and Ford Heights — to re-register, have a new photo taken and watch a video about new regulations.

Also, about 100 sheriff’s officers will conduct random compliance checks of sex offenders at their homes, according to the news release.

“Halloween is a fun time for children, and we want to make sure that ... we are doing what we can to ensure the safety of our kids out trick or treating, and to make sure the sex offenders within our jurisdiction understand that we will be watching them,” Dart said in the release.

In addition, the sheriff’s office has, over the past few weeks, conducted aerial and ground checks of sex offenders’ residences, with a detective walking on the property while a helicopter hovered overhead.

The new inspections are a result of recent high-profile sex abuse cases.

“In the Jaycee Dugard case, officers visited the residence regularly, neighbors called with complaints and officers even searched inside (kidnapper Phillip Garrido’s) house,” Dart said in the news release. “But no one searched his yard.”

A list of registered sex offenders in unincorporated Cook County is available at cookcountysheriff.org. For a list of sex offenders across the state, visit isp.state.il.us/sor/.