Cook County 'Tails' program offers redemption for inmates, dogs
Cookie was a troubled girl.
Her large size, mixed background and bad manners made it unlikely anyone was going to adopt her.
That was until she and five other unwanted youngsters joined an innovative Cook County program launched earlier this year to help those in Cookie's circumstances. Now, she's well on her way to becoming a law enforcement officer.
Did we mention Cookie is a dog?
She's one of the first five graduates of the Tails of Redemption program, run by the Cook County sheriff's office and Chicago Animal Care and Control.
The eight-week program pairs bad-mannered shelter dogs with Cook County jail detainees. The detainees work alongside the dogs to provide training, with the goal of making them suitable for adoption.
Cookie proved to be so smart and trainable, the sheriff's office decided to train her as a drug-detection dog.
And two of the other dogs - Bitsy and Dutch - ended up finding their "fur-ever" homes with sheriff's personnel.
"It is such an incredible program, when you think these dogs were unadoptable," said Cara Smith, the sheriff's chief policy officer. "I could not believe the transformation in these dogs."
All five had some pit bull in their genes, Smith said. They also are larger dogs, which generally aren't as attractive for adoption, according to shelter officials.
But they responded to training with the jail detainees so quickly that they could have been adopted a few weeks earlier than expected, Smith said.
When the program started, Sheriff Tom Dart said he hoped detainees in the Chicago jail would realize, after changing the future for the dogs, that they "have the power to change their own future as well."
The dogs stayed all day with their trainers, sleeping in crates in their cells in the Division 9 maximum-security facility near 31st Street and California Avenue. There they had a small, fenced-in outdoors area for training and a library in a common area with books and videos about dogs.
None of the detainees selected for the program have been charged with rape, murder or crimes involving animals, officials point out.
"The animals are teaching the detainees as much as they are teaching the animals," Smith said. And jail staff members enjoyed participating in a positive program in surroundings that otherwise can be depressing, she added.
A new session will begin in about a week, and officials plan to increase it to eight dogs and eight detainees.
If you want to support the program, the animal shelter is asking for donations of supplies, including dog food, waste-disposal bags, pooper-scoopers and crates. Its full wish list is at amazon.com.
<h3 class="leadin">Supreme Court hears Great America case
Did Six Flags Great America in Gurnee violate state law when it required season pass holders to provide fingerprint scans to verify their identity?
That was the question before the Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday, when justices heard arguments in the case of a Lake County mom suing the theme park on behalf of her teenage son.
The 2016 lawsuit filed by Stacy Rosenbach alleges Great America defied the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, which prohibits private companies from collecting a person's biometric information - retina and iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints and scans of hands and faces - without written consent and a written explanation of what it is collecting, how it will be used and how long it will be kept.
Rosenbach says the theme park neither obtained her consent nor provided her 14-year-old son with any information when it scanned his fingerprints as part of an identity verification system for season pass holders.
A state appeals court already agreed there was a "technical" violation but ruled against Rosenbach because the lawsuit doesn't claim her son was harmed by Great America's actions. Her attorney, Philip Bock, argued Tuesday that Six Flags harmed the teen just by collecting the fingerprint data unlawfully.
"It's a personal decision of whether you want them to be able to do it or you do not want them to be able to do it," Bock told the court. "And if they do it without giving you that option, which is required under the statute, you've been aggrieved."
Several privacy and civil liberties groups, including the ACLU and the Center for Democracy & Technology, are siding with the Rosenbachs and filed briefs on their behalf with the state Supreme Court.
"Biometric information is particularly sensitive because - unlike a driver's license or Social Security number - it cannot be changed in the event of a security breach," the ACLU said in a statement about the case. "When a company violates BIPA's notice and consent requirements, it is not a mere 'technical violation' but a direct blow to the individual's ability to protect his or her own personal information."
Justices took the case under advisement after Tuesday's arguments.
<h3 class="leadin">Honor roll
Congrats are in order for a pair of award-winning Elgin police officers.
First, Sgt. Heather Robinson was recognized for her service by the Elgin Turners last week. It's the second major honor this year for Robinson, a 14-year department veteran who in April was named Officer of the Year by Elgin American Legion Post 57. That award noted Robinson's work as lead detective in the October 2017 murder of Gail Peck, 76. Her son, Brian, is charged in the killing.
And officer Lisandro Ramirez last week received the Member of the Year award from the Elgin Hispanic Network for his participation in the organization and involvement in the Elgin community.
• Got a tip or thoughts on a cops and crime-related issue to share? Send an email to copsandcrime@dailyherald.com.