Illinois Valley Times

Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) joined House colleagues Reps. Tom Weber (Lake Villa), Steve Reick (R-Woodstock), and Deanne Mazzochi (R-Westmont) at a press conference March 17 to demand changes at The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

"In Fiscal Year 2021 there was a staggering 41,970 children indicated as abused or neglected in the DCFS system," Welter said. "Thirteen thousand, nine hundred and sixty children were indicated as re-abused. Re-abused! Every year since the governor was elected that number has grown. Last year in DCFS's system, there were 20 deaths attributed to abuse and 68 deaths due to neglect. Four thousand, six hundred and twenty-two children were indicated as sexual abuse victims. Among those were 54 indicated as victims of human trafficking. That is not what leadership looks like. This should be a top priority for the legislature right here in Springfield and it should be a top priority for Gov. Pritzker. We need to act now. We must demand full transparency. That is what is so important. Decisions that are being made by this governor's administration are passing by with limited to no transparency."

DCFS director Marc Smith has been cited with contempt of court for the fourth time since Jan. 6 for leaving children in psychiatric facilities long after they've been cleared for discharge. 

For now, Smith has been fined $1,000 a day, but soon, the agency can be fined $2,000 a day if the agency doesn't take necessary measures to place children in appropriate homes.

 "In the more than 30 years that I've been practicing in Juvenile Court, I cannot recall a single time when a judge has held the DCFS director — or any high-level DCFS official — in contempt of court," longtime Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "Nor can I recall a single time when a judge in Juvenile Court has ordered fines in this manner."

One 16-year-old girl was shuffled between places 25 times, these included foster homes, hospitals and shelters.

"To give a flavor of DCFS's extreme placement shortage crisis, last year alone DCFS forced 356 of its children to languish in locked psychiatric hospitals unnecessarily for an average of 55 days — nearly two months — each," Golbert said. "This adds up to more than 50 years of wasted children's lives in just a year." 

Failures at the department have brought demands that the governor take action.

After the beating death of 19-month-old Sophia Faye Davis, allegedly at the hands of her father's girlfriend, it was learned Sophia Faye's mother had made allegations of abuse, but the DCFS dismissed them as unfounded.

Also, two DCFS workers are being charged with endangerment of a child after the death of 5-year-old A.J. Freund, who was murdered by his parents.