26 detainees charged with attacking correctional officers at Cook County Jail

More than two dozen maximum-security detainees have been charged with attacking staff at the Cook County Jail in the past month.

Between Dec. 12 and Jan. 12, 26 detainees were charged with aggravated battery to staff, according to a statement from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said the aggravated battery charges include both physical attacks against officers, as well as inmates throwing objects at them. She said the jail usually sees about 20 such incidents per month on average.

Anthony Jones, 26, was charged with punching a correctional deputy Jan. 5 in the Division 10 maximum-security housing unit, the sheriff’s office said. He was originally booked into the jail in 2011 on murder charges.

Jones is being held without bail and was next expected to appear in court Feb. 13, according to sheriff’s office records.

Jordan Whitaker, 24, is accused of punching a correctional deputy multiple times on Dec. 28 in Division 9, the sheriff’s office said. In addition to the aggravated battery charge, he was also charged with resisting a peace officer.

Whitaker was originally arrested in 2014 for aggravated criminal sexual assault, the sheriff’s office said. He is being held on $100,000 bail, and his next court date was scheduled for Feb. 8.

Arthur Walker, 26, was charged Dec. 29 with punching a correctional deputy multiple times on Dec. 5, also in Division 9, according to the sheriff’s office. He was originally booked into the jail on a 2014 murder charge.

He’s being held at the jail without bail and was expected to appear in court again Jan. 23, according to sheriff’s office records.

Authorities released surveillance footage showing the incidents for which Jones, Whitaker and Walker were charged. They did not release details about the 23 other detainees charged since Dec. 12.