Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Daily Southtown
by Jonathan Lipman

Cook County has its first-ever female medical examiner with the promotion of Dr. Nancy L. Jones to the top spot at the county morgue.

Jones is the longest-serving pathologist in the office, having served since 1986.

“Dr. Jones’ many years of service at the medical examiners’ office and her outstanding credentials make her uniquely qualified to lead this vitally important institution,” County Board President Todd Stroger said in a statement.

The county board approved Jones’ appointment, effective Aug. 1, at last week’s board meeting.
Jones has won several awards for her work and has taught forensics at the University of Chicago and the Chicago-Kent College of Law, among other places.

The medical examiner’s office, which replaced the old coroner’s office in December 1976, performs autopsies and investigations of all suspicious deaths in the county. It handles about 6,000 investigations and 4,500 autopsies every year.

Jones succeeds Edmund Donoghue, who was medical examiner for 13 years until his resignation last year. J. Scott Denton served as interim medical examiner until Jones’ appointment.