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* Ben Bradley at WGN…
Little has changed following a WGN Investigates’ report in 2019 that highlighted children being forced to sleep in offices because the Department of Child and Family Services does not have enough space.
Following multiple reports, the first which aired in June 2019, the governor and other officials called the conditions “unacceptable.”
Two years later, WGN Investigates has obtained new pictures that shows all that’s changed is the addition of a blow-up mattress. […]
In the last six months of 2019, 54 children in DCFS care spent the night in a state office. In all of 2020, the number ballooned to 129. It has continued to happen at a similar pace this year; 52 children have had to spend at least one night in the office of DCFS or more often, a private agency.
* The DCFS response…
“Keeping children in offices is unacceptable unless no other options are available. Finding an immediate placement for a child was more challenging during the height of the pandemic, as caregivers were hesitant to accept youth due to health and safety concerns.”
* And here’s another story you should read today…
* First came the sewage, then the hunger strike - After a plumbing flood at the aging Logan Correctional Center, three women organized one of the first successful hunger strikes in an Illinois women’s prison in years.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 3:39 am
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Previous Post: Fitch owes us one
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Case workers are in a tough spot. They’re damned if they do their jobs, damned if they don’t. If the alternative to sleeping on a blow up mattress in a clean office is a god knows what living situation, I’m OK with giving them an office to sleep in.
Comment by Politix Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 8:07 am
Seems like there are major issues in care for anyone in state custody. Has anyone checked on how Covid vaccines are given to children under DCFS care?
Comment by DuPage Saint Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 8:25 am
Well as long as they got a blow-up mattress….
Comment by Bruce( no not him) Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 8:26 am
The unresolved issues are piling up for Governor Pritzker’s agencies. The excuses are lame, tiresome and not holding up.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 9:42 am
Can we add this article, too?
==CBS 2’s Tara Molina did some digging and found nearly every state agency in Illinois has scammers impersonating them – using texts, emails, and even phone calls. Lines were long Thursday at a Secretary of State’s office …headed back out to renew their licenses or get new IDs post-pandemic.
Some scammers are taking advantage of just such lines and delays with text messages that might read, “Illinois Department of Transportation Driver License Waiver Validation. Validate your details below.”
That text is not really from IDOT, and it is actually an attempt to get personal information.==
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/07/12/scammers-impersonating-illinois-state-departments-phishing-scams/
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 9:59 am
Response
Thanks for the info on the IDOT issue.
I got an email that indicated it was from IDOT the other day.
Glad I did not open it.
Back.
Comment by Back to the Future Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 10:09 am
=== Following multiple reports, the first which aired in June 2019, the governor and other officials called the conditions “unacceptable.”===
Not only do Governors own, this governor seemingly can’t get what he thought was unacceptable to the bare minimum of “acceptable”… let alone fixed.
Lemme guess, this will be a priority… in a second term… so hang tight until 2023?
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 10:39 am
I am surprised DCFS caseworkers made these accommodations. I think these employees should be given a medal. These children come from horrible circumstances and i am happy knowing someone is trying to keep them safe. Using these circumstances to get clicks is gross. Shame
Comment by Merica Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 11:35 am
==Illinois Department of Transportation Driver License Waiver Validation. ==
Anything license related that mentions IDOT, or even uses the abbreviation DMV, is an obvious scan in Illinois. Since SOS drivers facilities are never officially called DMVs in Illinois.
Comment by EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 1:23 pm
If only we had a billionaire Governor whose fortune was built on the hotel and hospitality industry.
Comment by ChrisB Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 1:39 pm
Here’s the problem with press coverage if reporters don’t ask the perfectly tailored follow up questions for the DCFS and Governor: leadership just gets to repeat the same non answering drivel. It is not ok that children are sleeping in offices nor is it ok that DCFS is permitted to hides the data about the occurrences. Yet, if people don’t start asking questions that push back on the Governor in a way that will bring accountability, these stories are like rinse, recycle, and repeat. Fine, we hear you. It’s a “hard” problem, but has DCFS moved the needle at all in 2 years? Doubtful. Until someone says here’s the situation as it exists and we will know it’s improving by defined milestones, how can the press or anyone else hold these leaders accountable? WGN should ask the Governor: will I be coming back to you to get (the same) comment on this story in a few months when I get intel or are you measuring progress in anyway to see whether the problem is improving, worsening, or just staying status quo? The Governor should want to have milestones so he can say improvements are being made unless of course he doesn’t really care so much about improving the situation as he does about PR spin. If his only angle is PR spin, the reader should be able to make that determination easily assuming the right follow up questions are asked by reporters. This is why the press is important to democracy. We need more of them and they need to have bandwidth to dig into details so they can hold our leaders accountable.
Comment by For the love of Tuesday, Jul 13, 21 @ 3:31 pm