The most serious of the 16 citations issued by the Illinois Department of Labor accuses county officials of ignoring concerns expressed by employees in the Cook County Administration Building about locked stairwells in the 35-story building.
Six people were trapped in smoke-filled stairwells and died in the Oct. 17 fire.
The agency's citation of the county was obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The agency also accused the fire department of failing to provide proper disaster scene training and for communication failures during the fire. Further, the agency said the fire department ignored its own procedures that require a senior official to coordinate firefighting and rescue efforts.
If the allegations stand, the county faces a maximum of $18,000 in fines and the city $9,000. They learned of the citations Thursday and have 15 days to respond, the Sun-Times reported.
Retiring Fire Commissioner James Joyce disputed the allegations and said the state agency reached its conclusions without interviewing him or any other senior member of the fire department.
Cook County Board President John Stroger disputed the allegations that his administration was willfully negligent in addressing concerns about locked stairwell doors. A spokeswoman for Stroger said county officials were unaware of any employee complaints before the fire.
``We were absolutely within city code,'' said Caryn Stancik.
Chicago police are still investigating the cause of the blaze. The fire department's Office of Fire Investigation in December ruled it an incendiary fire, meaning its origin was manmade, but did not determine whether the blaze was intentionally set or accidental.
