No foul play suspected after inmate dies on bus to Stateville

An inmate being transferred to Stateville Correctional Center died Monday morning after being found unresponsive on the transport bus in southwest suburban Crest Hill.

Clifford V. Nelson, 49, was being transferred from the Cook County Jail and was found unresponsive on the bus about 9:50 a.m. at Stateville in Crest Hill, according to the Will County coroner’s office.

Nelson was being transferred to Illinois Department of Corrections custody from the Cook County Jail on a parole violation, according to IDOC spokeswoman Nicole Wilson.

When the bus arrived, Cook County staff informed IDOC staff that Nelson was unresponsive on the bus, Wilson said. He remained in the custody of the sheriff’s office.

He was taken to Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where he was pronounced dead at 10:53 a.m., the coroner’s office said. An autopsy Tuesday revealed no signs of foul play.

Cook County sheriff’s spokeswoman Cara Smith said authorities are waiting for full toxicology results, but the initial tests were negative for opioids.

In April 2016, Nelson was sentenced by Cook County Judge Ramon Ocasio III to 18 months in prison for a charge of retail theft, court records show. He lived in Chicago’s Ashburn neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

Illinois State Police are investigating the death.