by TChris

Chicago police received a tip that an inmate had a knife and was plotting an escape from the Cook County Jail. They forwarded that information to a sheriff's captain, who gave it to the jail sergeant assigned to that tier.

But Charles Fasano, an official with the John Howard Association, which monitors the jail, said that guards in the unit should have then searched the inmate's cell.

Fasano said the captain should have checked in later with the sergeant to learn the results of the search. "You'd want to call back and say what did you find?" Fasano said. "Did you find a knife?"

The lack of a follow-up raises questions about whether the escape could have been prevented even though the inmates allegedly had help from a correctional officer who since has been criminally charged.

The sergeant and five other guards have been suspended with pay pending an investigation. Investigators want to know if the guards were negligent or if they assisted other guards who are charged with facilitating the escape.