In January of 2023, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was faced with a lawsuit accusing the agency of mistreating children in their care by having them sent to juvenile detention facilities. Sadly, these allegations are not the first leveled against the agency tasked with protecting foster children.

House Republicans have been leading the fight to reform this agency and to offer the necessary support to foster children and families for years. With the beginning of the 103rd General Assembly, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie rededicated caucus efforts to the work that needed to be done to protect children.

For Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois Democrats, making and breaking big promises is becoming a way of life. If that sounds like a typical throwaway political attack line, an examination of the last year of action (or inaction) by the governor and the Illinois General Assembly reveals the truth.

From drawing fair legislative maps to promises of honesty in financial dealings, protecting children in the care of DCFS, addressing rising crime, and providing relief for families struggling to afford necessities like food and fuel, Democrats have made some big promises. To this point in the 102nd General Assembly, it seems Democrats' promises were made to be broken. 

One of the vital roles of government is to protect its residents, especially vulnerable children in state care. For a variety of reasons, Illinois children end up in the system, because of abuse from their parents or guardians, death of parents or guardians, homelessness, neglect, and even outright abandonment. As a society, we give up part of our income to the government to establish a social safety net to protect these children and provide them with vital services.

For a third time, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Marc Smith has been found in contempt of court for failing to place a child in an appropriate care setting. In this episode of Have All Voted Who Wish, Illinois State Representative Tony McCombie demands public hearings into the failures at DCFS and discusses the ongoing concerns.

Have All Voted Who Wish · McCombie demands immediate DCFS action

~ by Rep. Steven Reick

Joseph Wallace, Gizzell “Gizzy” Ford, Ja’hir Gibbons, Semaj Crosby, A.J. Freund. What do they have in common? All of them were murdered and before their deaths all of them were the subjects of investigation by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

Now add to that list Kerrigan “Kerri” Rutherford, age 6 from Montgomery, Illinois. Her mother and stepfather have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with her July 2nd death, which Kendall County authorities allege was the result of the couple having given Kerri enough of a prescription drug, olanzapine, to kill her.

Reps. Sosnowski, Weber, and Bryant during a press conference. 

During a press conference at the Illinois State Capitol last week, State Representatives Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa), Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) and Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) presented several pieces of legislation to reform the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

“In April of 2019, one of the communities I represent, Crystal Lake, was rocked by the death of an innocent 5-year old boy named AJ Freund,” said Rep. Weber. “Shockingly, AJ was one of 123 children who were failed by DCFS in 2019. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about and I’m not alone in that feeling. We must change the course of a broken DCFS and that’s why I’ve filed the AJ Freund Act to give local law enforcement the ability to investigate any allegation of child abuse or neglect. If local law enforcement had this investigative ability in December of 2018, when AJ told the ER doctor that his bruises might have been caused by his mother, he may still be alive today.”

State Representative Brian Stewart filed House Bill 4147 to make attacking a DCFS workers in performance of their duties an aggravated battery and a Class 1 felony.

House Bill 4147, filed this week, would make battering a Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in the performance of his/her official duties or in response to their official duties an aggravated battery and a Class 1 felony. Aggravated battery subject perpetrators to more severe penalties when facing prosecution and sentencing.

“My deepest sympathies and get well-wishes go out to the victim of this horrible attack, her family and everyone in her DCFS family.  Everyday DCFS workers put themselves at risk to protect the most vulnerable children in our communities,” said Rep. Stewart. “This legislation will give DCFS workers the same protections as policemen, firemen, and peace officers who also put themselves in harm’s way.”  Read more.

Rep. Christine Winger advanced legislation on Tuesday that would instill a little normalcy in the lives of Illinois foster children.

Spending time at a friend’s house, taking school trips, attending prom, holding a summer job, even having a Facebook page are normal activities for many Illinois youth. “Most would agree these experiences help young people develop interests, acquire skills, understand cultural differences and build relationships,” explained Winger. “While we take these experiences for granted, it is not the case for Illinois foster kids.” Read more.

In an effort to protect wards of the state, State Representative Christine Winger (R-Bloomingdale) passed legislation out of the Illinois House today that initiates a recommendation made at a legislative hearing scrutinizing the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Rep. Winger’s legislation specifically targets allegations of abuse at state-supported youth residential facilities.

At the hearing, a former ward of the state testified that having the ability to submit complaints, concerns and suggestions anonymously would help improve the safety of state wards living in residential treatment centers regulated by DCFS. She explained that oftentimes residents felt they needed anonymity to report wrongdoing or risk retaliation from their abusers. Read more.

Comptroller – appointment
Leslie Geissler Munger’s appointment announced by Bruce Rauner.  A Chicago business executive, Munger will be named by Governor-elect Bruce Rauner to serve as Comptroller, filling the vacant office left behind by the late elected Comptroller Judy Barr Topinka. Governor-Elect Rauner announced the pending appointment on Monday.

The head of the agency that oversees children who are wards of the state told state lawmakers Wednesday that a revolving door at the top is partly to blame for abuses that have plagued the department for decades.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services acting director Bobbie Gregg said claims of brutality, sexual assaults, and other abuse at state-run youth centers are “appalling” and “unacceptable,” but are far from a new problem.

Testifying at a hearing held by members of six House and Senate panels in Chicago, she said part of the problem is perpetual changes in leadership at DCFS.
“I have been serving in this capacity since March 1st of 2014. I am the seventh director of the department in three years, and I was the third director within four months,” she said.

The revolving door will spin once again in a couple weeks, after Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner takes office.

“I have been that my tenure will not be extended beyond January 19th,” she said. Read the rest of the story by John Cody on CBS Chicago.

With the holiday season in full swing, the state Capitol is largely quiet. But some legislators say this is the exact time to think of children in the state’s care.

State Rep. Patti Bellock, R-Hinsdale, called reports of physical and sexual violence within the state’s child welfare agency “an absolute tragedy.”

She said an upcoming hearing to examine the problems at the Department of Children and Family Services could mark the start of a bipartisan effort to greatly improve child protection in Illinois.

State Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, another member of the House Human Services committee examining the issues, agrees change is needed, including making child protection a true state priority.

DCFS has long been underfunded and understaffed and leadership at the top has too often changed, Cabello said. “I’ve worked with a number of DCFS people, caseworkers, in my area. I can tell you they are committed to doing what is right, committed to doing the most they can with what they have,” said the Rockford police detective who is on leave while he serves in the General Assembly. The Rockford Register Star has the story by Mark Fitton with the Illinois News Network.