Newsviews: Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The people held at the Cook County Jail are often charged with terrible crimes, and some are not.

Sheriff Tom Dart says there are suspects accused of minor crimes like retail theft and trespassing, but they're not in and out of the jail in just a matter of days. According to the sheriff, one man was behind bars for 114 days for stealing candy bars. The cost to taxpayers: $16,000.

Dart says there are ways to process these cases more quickly and save taxpayer dollars. Some are fairly simple, others involve new legislation that would require moving these suspects through the system in 30 days.

Part one

Newsviews: Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart

Part two

Newsviews: Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart