Six Illinois inmates who escaped from the Cook County Jail were back in custody after the final two fugitives surrendered early Monday, ending a standoff at an apartment where they sought refuge with a woman and five children. No one was injured.

Their escape late Saturday _ which began when an inmate threw hot, soapy water in the face of a lone officer at a jail shower _ was the second in two days at the Cook County Jail, which officials said was short-staffed.

 About three dozen police had surrounded the apartment building where the last two inmates had holed up. One of the men faced armed robbery charges and the other was accused of aggravated kidnaping and attempting escape from a courthouse; they talked intermittently with police negotiators. A third fugitive, who was charged with murder, surrendered from the apartment late Saturday, bringing two of the young children with him.

Two other inmates were captured Sunday about 7 miles from the jail in Oak Park. Another inmate was arrested Sunday evening, said Chicago police spokeswoman JoAnn Taylor. The men escaped from a special unit for inmates with disciplinary problems. One officer was on duty instead of three because of staffing shortages, said county Sheriff's Department spokesman Bill Cunningham.

One inmate threw hot water from a shower on the officer and held him at bay with a homemade knife, then handcuffed the officer and put on his uniform, officials said. That inmate was immediately caught after opening doors to let the other six inmates out. They got over a barbed wire fence and onto the streets. On Friday, an inmate facing armed robbery charges broke out by apparently slipping into a laundry truck. He was arrested Saturday at a suburban motel, authorities said.