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A Cook County Board subcommittee has agreed to pay $362,500 to settle a federal lawsuit brought by a County Jail inmate who said that he and others in the maximum security unit were stripped, beaten and stomped by guards in 1999. Although the Cook County Board's litigation subcommittee approved the payment Thursday to Cello Pettiford, it authorized lawyers to go to trial in a second case, in which another County Jail inmate alleged that he and four other prisoners were beaten by guards in 2000. "I hope the County Board, by approving the settlement, does some thinking about what is going on at the jail -- for failing to deal with the systemic problem," Pettiford attorney Jean Maclean Snyder said. Cook County attorney Steven Puiszis said it was cheaper for the county to settle Pettiford's lawsuit than to fight it in court. He added that the county had gathered its own evidence, including medical testimony and claims from a cellmate who said Pettiford was not beaten. "We believe we've set the record straight through what we have accomplished," Puiszis said. "Why spend another $1 million to try the case?" The full County Board now must approve the settlement. Pettiford's allegations prompted an investigation by a grand jury, which released a report in September that accused Cook County sheriff's officials of trying to derail the investigation. The most serious allegations made in the report were against guards in the Special Operations Response Team (SORT). The report accused the unit of ordering more than 40 inmates out of their cells on Feb. 24, 1999, and then beating, kicking and stomping them. In the second case, the subcommittee authorized lawyers to fight the claims of former Chicago street gang leader Nathson Fields, who also said he was beaten by guards in the maximum security unit. The grand jury inquiry, which also examined Fields' allegations, determined inmates planned and provoked the incident to justify a brutality lawsuit. [more ] and [more]

Sheriff moves to erase report on 1999 jail beatings [more]