Cook County Sheriff's Office looking to hire recruits

PALOS HILLS, Ill. - At Moraine Valley Community College, recruits are training to join the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.

Just like other law enforcement agencies, Cook County is dealing with the great resignation and needs recruits.

It is a physical job – no question about it.

Fourteen weeks of physical, learning tactics and lots of classes like mental health and de-escalation.

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Cook County is looking for more hires. They are down about 300, and that’s just in the jail.

These recruits will start in the jail and become a police officer with the sheriff’s office if they have to go through even more training.

One recruit told FOX 32 Chicago they wanted to join the sheriff’s office because she grew up around the jail.

"Just having police presence around always made the community feel safer. And I feel like I could just be a really good role model for the children in my neighborhood. There's definitely other options out there besides drugs and crime, you know, something I want to let them know," said Claudette Castrejon.