CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It looks like officials with the Cook County Jail have tackled Super Bowl Sunday staffing issues this year.
Cara Smith, chief policy officer for Sheriff Tom Dart, said it's not exactly a Sunday the county looks forward to.
"It's one of those days that historically, we've seen very high call-offs for," Smith said. "Because the Super Bowl is in February, sometimes that's coupled with weather-related challenges."
She said about 80 officers have called in sick for their Super Bowl shift this year, slightly above the normal number of call-ins for Sunday.
"We're just very grateful. Obviously, it's still early today, but my sense is that we're going to see a significantly different call-off scenario for this Super Bowl than we have in the last several years."
That includes 2017, when nearly 240 workers called off work. Last year's staffing level significantly improved, as did this year's.
If the Bears happened to be representing the NFC in Super Bowl 53, Smith said things may have gotten ugly.
"Someone asked me if I was glad the Bears lost," she said. "The answer to that will always be no."