CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Cook County animal abuser registry, much like a sex offender registry, has been up for three years. But there’s a problem.
The registry is intended to prevent people convicted of animal abuse from buying pets, but in the three years since it was announced it has remained blank - no names, despite a number of convicted abusers whose names should be there.
“We have an amazing tool that should be utilized,” Heather Weidmann with Whiskers and Tails Rescue told CBS 2. “I’m sort of speechless."
Weidmann does checks on people hoping to adopt.
“I started noticing that when you put in Chicago, which is one of the ways you can search, no names have been coming up, at all.” she said. “It makes me very angry that people worked to get this passed, and rescues like us were ecstatic for it when it passed. And it’s literally just been sitting there for three years.”
Sheriff Tom Dart suggests that the problem is with the Cook County Clerk's office and the court system.
Dart’s office responded to CBS 2’s request with the following statement:
“Animal abuse is a serious crime and we are concerned that no one has registered under the ordinance. We’ve reached out to the county clerk’s office and the judiciary to determine who should have registered. Once we have that information, we will be able to immediately begin enforcing the requirements of the ordinance.”
According to CBS 2, that ordinance directs judges to order offenders to register and directs the county clerk to share that information with the sheriff’s office, but it’s unclear why that information hasn’t made it there.
An investigation is underway to determine why a Cook County animal abuser registry has never been used.