Lake County Gazette

Dismayed at the neglect shown by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for children who are under their care, gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey called out incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Reports were received that several children under DCFS's custody have been sleeping on office floors which Bailey condemns. 

"I am appalled at what is happening at DCFS," Bailey said. "The excuses are wearing thin. We need decisive leadership and we need it now. There have been 177 kids who have had to sleep on office floors because of the incompetence of the JB Pritzker Administration. His failings are hurting kids and it has to stop. It is time for JB Pritzker to be held accountable for the house of horrors - AKA the Department of Children and Family Services – he is running. The insanity in this Department is getting out of hand. It is beyond time for DCFS Director Marc Smith to go. The fact that he is still there is all of the evidence we need that JB Pritzker does not deserve a second term."

Among the 177 children who did not receive proper care from DCFS was a 5-year-old girl with autism. For six days, she slept on the agency's office floor before getting a placement in a special setting. The placement happened only after a judge ordered DCFS to find here an appropriate to be at.

"This is a child who is in DCFS's care due to concerns about abuse and neglect; and what does DCFS say to the little girl?" Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert prompted CBS News Chicago. "Here. Here's an office. Go sleep on the floor of this office."

The department has recently come under fire following many high-profile child deaths. The Auditor General's Office of Frank Mautino conducted an investigation and found that DCFS “was unable to provide 192 of the 195 (98%) required Home Safety Checklists.”  A checklist, which as of March 16, needed to be updated with the required new language, "is to be completed by DCFS whenever it is determined by a court that a child that has been court ordered into foster or substitute care can return to the custody of the parent or guardian," for the child's safety, according to the May 2022 audit report.

In a span of only a year, Smith has been held in contempt of court twelve times, once for improperly holding a 14-year-old child in a mental health facility, CBS News Chicago also reported. In September 2021, one child was briefly detained, put through the system 21 times, and then was essentially imprisoned in the facility. In that case, the judge ordered DCFS to pay a daily charge of $1,000 until the child received the necessary care. 

Despite the many court rulings, Pritzker has kept Smith's side.