Lake County Gazette

Illinois state Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) said wholesale changes are needed in the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and he blames Democrats for a lawsuit that was recently filed accusing the department of allowing children to be wrongfully detained.

"I think as with any government agency run by Democrats, we have perverse incentives for the way things operate and no accountability or expectations," Wilcox told the Lake County Gazette. "The focus at DCFS should be on performance and based on the outcome as viewed by the parents and the kids who are involved with the agency."

Teenager Janiah Caine is one of eight defendants named in the federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges she was forced to spend months wrongfully incarcerated in a juvenile jail on three separate occasions, during which she told investigators she felt in danger.

"You don't feel safe," Caine said in a story by WLS. "The staff don't make you feel safe either. They're not respectful to you. They treat you like nothing."

The federal civil rights lawsuit was filed by Cook County Guardian Charles Golbert against DCFS. He claimed the agency often leaves children in detention centers for months after their release orders are signed because they don't have enough staff or beds to house them. Wilcox said the agency needs to be held up to a higher standard.

Wilcox said DCFS seems to "focus on ideology and policy and how it can bring something back to them." He added that the department needs to be rebuilt.

"With this agency you’ve got to tear things down and rebuild it where you get the metrics to be accountable to the outcomes," he told the Gazette.

As recently as in 2021, there were 84 instances of children being left locked up for prolonged periods of time, data from the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian showed. At least seven of them are still in custody to this day.

"We’re falling far short of doing the job we’re supposed to be doing by these kids," Wilcox said. "Things need to change to give them their best chance. We’ve got to start to get these kids ready for the world."

The senator added that he has lost confidence in DCFS because Gov. JB Pritzker's administration has failed to monitor the agency and, as a result, changes are needed.

"The more [Pritzker] gets involved the more he acknowledges a problem at the agency and the shortcomings of his administration," Wilcox said. "He’s trying to hope things away to not derail his desires." 

Wilcox further noted that he has no confidence in DCFS as it is currently constituted.

"Especially after Director [Marc] Smith was just reappointed," he said. "He’s been there too long and has been accepting of all the things that are going bad there. There needs to be leadership change that starts with him."