If approved, Dr. Cina will be walking into an office in cleanup mode after the Sun-Times revealed earlier this year that bodies were piling up in a cooler at the West Side facility and that the place was filthy — in such bad shape that the Labor Department launched an investigation of blood and other bodily fluids pooling on the floor there.

Initially, Jones and other officials blamed state budget cuts, which included a lack of funding to bury those on public aid, for bodies piling up. That funding has since been reinstated.

But Preckwinkle also blamed management — initially suggesting she’d like to jettison Jones — and then backing off. Last month, Jones announced her retirement, effective July 31, and one of her deputies was ousted.

Her appointment of Cina — an outsider — represents a cultural change she’s been looking for since the first reports of problems at the morgue. Jones, a widely respected forensic pathologist, is a 26-year veteran of the office. And her deputy, Kimberly Jackson, was a political hire and holdover from the late County Board President John Stroger’s era.

“Over the past several months, we’ve been addressing serious concerns at the ME’s office head on,” Preckwinkle said in the statement. “These issues arose because of a culture that was allowed to go unchecked in the past. Since earlier this year, we’ve steadily implemented an overhaul of personnel, policies and procedures. With this pending change in top management, we’re well on our way to creating a first-rate Medical Examiner’s Office.”

Cina would serve a five-year term in the position, which currently pays $230,640.