The City and Cook County M.E. in Cahoots to Cook the Books on Homicides

From Second City Cop:

Jan. 27, 2013

A woman was killed Sunday night during a dispute with a family member in the Gresham neighborhood and detectives are questioning her father, police said.

Terika Moore, 25, suffered blunt force trauma to the head inside her home in the 7700 block of South Morgan Street, authorities said.

Paramedics found Moore unreponsive [sic] around 6:50 p.m. Sunday. She was taken to Saint Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center, where she was pronounced dead at 8:01 p.m., according to the medical examiner's office.

The victim's 47-year-old father is in custody in connection with the slaying, police said.

Terika wasn't much, small time dope fiend, only a dozen or so arrests in her short 25 years. That's almost an angel.

But thanks to the Cook County Medical Examiner and maybe a little push from CompStat, she's now a "Death by Natural Causes."

 

 

New Medical Examiner playing ball with the Cook County/Chicago crowd?

 

From the Chicago Tribune July 24, 2012

Dr. Stephen Cina nomination to succeed Dr. Nancy Jones as head of the morgue was approved today by the County Board.

 

Some commissioners complained that board President Toni Preckwinkle sprung her choice for medical examiner on them this month, though only Commissioner John Fritchey, D-Chicago, voted against Cina's appointment. Commissioner John Fritchey, D-Chicago, expressed frustration today that board members found out about Cina only when Preckwinkle nominated him for the post. And Cina has held several positions over the past decade, Fritchey pointed out, wondering why he would need a guaranteed five-year term.

 

In opening remarks at his confirmation hearing, Cina noted others in his field wondered why he wanted to work in Cook County, since the position "is widely viewed as incredibly challenging in the medical examiner community."

A Florida pathologist said Tuesday he knows what he's getting into as he takes over the politically charged position of running the troubled Cook County morgue

 

Cina will be getting added job security and resources from the county to help him. He will have the position for at least five years thanks to a recent change to county statute championed by Preckwinkle giving all new hires as medical examiner a full term rather than simply the remainder of their predecessor's term.

 

Cina will make $300,000 in his new post — $68,000 per year more than Jones (The last M.E.) was paid. He will be allowed to continue to do outside consulting work — he commands $400 an hour

 

He guarantees he won't talk. He'll be a good Cook County/Chicago soldier and follow orders

But Commissioner Robert Steele, D-Chicago, nonetheless urged Cina — who has appeared on television and in magazines in recent years to comment on high-profile death investigations — to keep his focus on his new duties. Steele referred to Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner who has gone on to have a high-profile TV career.
"The one thing I'm not looking forward to is Dr. Baden, a gentleman who's all over the country, all over every TV show, sharing his opinions on autopsies and the death of individuals around the country," Steele said. "So I hope you come here with a great zest to work here in Cook County."
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Cina said he has his priorities straight. "I've turned down (talk show host) Nancy Grace probably about 20 times over the course of my career in Broward County," he said. "I don't like to be in the media."

Here's another domestic related homicide killed by the Police

Man dies after struck by car driven by girlfriend -This smells funky like a homicide lowering move Jan. 9, 2013
In what police are calling an accident, a man died after his girlfriend ran over him outside a Lawndale medical clinic where the couple had just been told they were expecting a child.
Michael Santiago, 21, and Arely Torres, 19, of Cicero had left the clinic around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday after getting confirmation of a home-pregnancy test
Witnesses told police that Santiago was leaning into an open passenger side door of a Volkswagen, speaking with Torres who was behind the wheel, when she sped forward, said Samantha Santiago, 23. The door struck Santiago, who hit another car and landed on the ground, where he was run over by the Volkswagen.
Torres was cited with driving too fast for conditions. She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was tested for alcohol and drugs, which is routine for fatal accidents, police said. The Police Major Accident Investigation Unit is investigating