Cook County correctional officer dies of COVID-19 complications, sheriff's office says

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 51-year-old correctional officer in Cook County has died of COVID-19 complications, the sheriff's office announced Sunday.

Antoine Jones died Sunday after being diagnosed with coronavirus in late March, the Cook County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

"His passing is a shock to us all," a spokesperson for the sheriff's office said.

The South Side resident has worked with the sheriff's office since 2002. He leaves behind a wife and five adult children.

"The Sheriff's Office considers his death to be in the line of duty and will be strongly advocating that his family receive all the benefits that designation affords," the spokesperson said.

The office called correctional staff, like Jones, the "unseen heroes in the fight against this global pandemic, bravely working to keep their fellow colleagues, detainees, and the public safe from COVID-19."