As a father, I can't wrap my head around it or justify the inaction by our governor, by our legislature and by the director," Rep. Tom Weber said. | repweber.com
As a father, I can't wrap my head around it or justify the inaction by our governor, by our legislature and by the director," Rep. Tom Weber said. | repweber.com
In the eyes of Republican state Rep. Tom Weber the stories about problems at the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) have become all too familiar.
“All told from 2010 to March 2021, 1,122 children who had contact with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services have died,” Weber said at a recent news conference about the agency. “If that's not a crisis, I don't know what is. As a father, I can't wrap my head around it or justify the inaction by our governor, by our legislature and by the director.”
Weber insists he’s been working to change things at the agency ever since the death of A.J. Freund nearly six years ago.
“AJ was murdered by his parents after DCFS failed him,” he said. “He was a bright young boy who was taken from us too soon but sadly the tragedies at DCFS haven't slowed down. I filed and co-sponsored numerous pieces of legislation that I think will help, but the Pritzker Administration has just sat on the sidelines.”
Weber points to the tragic killing of 6-year-old North Chicago boy Damari Perry earlier this month, whose relatives have been charged with the deed, as the latest example of the agency failing the children it is entrusted to protect. Damari was in the foster care system in Illinois because his mother had already lost custody of her other children due to DCFS investigations.
Over time, all her children were returned to her care and DCFS conducted a pair of investigations before the boy's demise, including an abuse and neglect probe where Damari's mother wrote a threatening message about harming him.
CBS News reports police recently found the boy’s lifeless body dumped on an abandoned property in Gary, Ind.
When authorities found Damari’s body, he was naked, partially charred and wrapped in a trash bag, according to the coroner’s office. An autopsy later found skin discoloration on his right leg caused by deep bruising and bleeding underneath, and that he had a very cold core temperature and his internal organs were partially frozen, leading to hypothermia as the likely cause of death.
Damari’s mother, Jannie Perry 38; his brother, Jeremiah Perry, 20; and a juvenile sibling are all facing charges in connection with his death.
“DCFS policies and practices have also resulted in undue harm to children through the actions of the agency itself,” Weber added. “When we do take children into the state's custody, we cannot even ensure for their well-being. Three hundred fifty-six children in the state's care were hospitalized for months longer than necessary in 2021 all because DCFS could not find adequate placements. Our state is failing at the single most important job we have — the care of our children most vulnerable.”
New legislation is now also pending in the General Assembly that would increase penalties for individuals who commit crimes against Illinois DCFS employees.
Known as the Knight-Silas Bill, the legislation comes not long after the deaths DCFS caseworkers Deidre Silas, killed earlier this month, and Pam Knight, killed in 2017, both of whom were on the job.
Two days after Silas was stabbed to death during a home visit in Thayer, Ill., according to ABC7, Gov. J.B. Pritzker threw his support behind the measure. Authorities have since arrested Benjamin Reed, 32, on first degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charges.
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