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Boreal Community Media

An Open Letter from Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen regarding COVID-19

Mar 17, 2020 12:14PM ● By Editor
See the latest communication from Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen - March 17, 2020

Good Day, Fellow Cook County Community Members;

As your Sheriff, I want to let you all know that no matter what, during these uncertain times as our community, state and nation work to address the novel COVID-19 Coronavirus, we will remain vigilant and will be here to respond to public safety needs in our county. Our Dispatch Center will also remain open to answer any emergency calls which come in.

We are taking many precautions during this time to ensure the safety of our staff and the public which we serve. These measures include, but are not limited to, application of hand sanitizer when on patrol, wearing personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks where necessary, and asking screening questions when in close contact with the public. We will continue these measures as long as necessary to slow the spread of the Coronavirus and to protect our essential service employees so that we may continue to do our jobs and be there for you, for the long haul.

I ask for your patience during this time. If you need a public safety response, rest assured, you will receive that service. I also ask that if you see something, say something because woefully there may be people who attempt to take advantage of these trying conditions.

We have also taken measures within our building such as restricting access to our offices and the Dispatch Center. In the future, further degrees of restriction may go into effect, such as no access to the lobby area. I realize this may cause some difficulty for those who need to retrieve forms or those who want to drop forms off. If these forms can wait, please allow this situation to calm down before the submission of non-essential paperwork.

If you, your neighbors, or anyone in the community have a need with which we can assist, please call us, and we will do what we can, or we will direct you to the services which can help. We ask everyone to make responsible choices during this time, consider not taking unnecessary risks, and consider whether or not your actions have impacts that add to the current state of affairs. I would like to think that all of Cook County can be part the solution and not part of the problem.

Take care, everyone, and be kind to one another.

 Sincerely;

Sheriff Pat Eliasen


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