DCFS worker charged with stealing more than $1M and spending it at a casino
Shauntelle Pridgeon was responsible for reviewing and approving daycare providers for children under DCFS' supervision.
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Shauntelle Pridgeon was responsible for reviewing and approving daycare providers for children under DCFS' supervision.
A member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking is speaking out about the treatment of foster children.
The teenage girl already had a history of being trafficked for sex – and DCFS placed her in a home with someone now accused of forcing her into prostitution.
Why were they there? The reason, the suit said, was that the state was out of placement beds.
Of the kids dying from abuse and neglect between July 2021 and June 2022, many died from natural causes. But 18 were homicides and 30 were accidents.
We have now uncovered new documents that may reveal there may have been more to the motive behind Amaria's murder.
State Rep. Lakesia Collins grew up in the DCFS system, but she was not aware how overwhelmingly often Illinois foster parents are cleared of abuse and neglect allegations.
This news is not sitting well with the family of the 8-year-old girl, whose mother is charged with her murder.
Surveillance video captured footage of what happened – but the 8-year-old's mom is not allowed to see it.
The higher court did say however, that the lower court judge – former Cook County Public Guardian Patrick Murphy - was trying to address a widespread problem and that Smith has fallen "woefully short."
Foster parents accused of abuse and neglect have the vast majority of their allegations closed without findings against them.
"Hunter was the life of the party," said Hunter's uncle and former foster father, Keil Quigley. "He always had a smile. He had beautiful blue eyes."
The agency investigated allegations of violence, sexual abuse – and finally, the death of a child this past August.
We have been asking every day for five weeks to find out how he died and who dropped the ball.
"At what point is enough is enough? Obviously, whatever they are doing isn't working."
Three different downstate counties investigated this family over the years, but now there are questions over whether they all knew what was going on by neighboring agencies.
"I just want to know what happened to him. I just want to know what happened to my child."
DCFS cares for over 20,000 children with an annual budget of $1.5 billion.
9 children have since died in the care of DCFS since December.
Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert submitted 12 pages Monday of what he calls systemic failures by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
This latest case involves a 15-year-old girl who has been stuck in a psychiatric hospital even though she was cleared to be released on Jan. 14.
DeMarcus Osby spoke out only to CBS 2's Chris Tye about the child welfare system that he says failed his daughter.
Two months – that is how long it took for the state's child welfare agency to make contact with a child who was flagged at risk for neglect.
The eight-year-old's final words: "momma stop."
An 11-year-old abused girl, considered a risk to herself and others, has spent two months in what's considered a shelter and has been waiting months longer for a secure residential treatment center placement.
A Glen Ellyn family is demanding criminal charges after they said their mail carrier attacked a hospice nurse as she was leaving their home.
Jacob Misiorowski pitched six scoreless innings, Brice Turang was 3 for 4 with a two-run homer, and the Milwaukee Brewers topped the Chicago Cubs 5-2 to move into first place in the NL Central.
It's the last call for one of America's longest-running beers.
Many Metra riders with disabilities have been forced to reroute their trips due to Monday's closure of the only elevator providing access to the Electric Line at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.
Two men have been charged in a shooting that left two teenagers dead and an adult injured last October in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
The Internal Revenue Service is permanently barred from pursuing claims against President Trump or his company based on prior tax returns, part of a controversial settlement deal between the Justice Department and Mr. Trump.
Survivors say they'd asked for more medical support before the Iranian drone strike that killed six U.S. soldiers at their command post in Kuwait in the war's first 24 hours.
An attorney for Chicago Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) on Monday called an ethics investigation into the alderman's conduct a malicious "travesty."
In a move aimed at curbing the growing problem of "teen takeovers," D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is threatening to bring charges against parents if their teens violate the local curfew.
State Rep. Josh Turek and State Sen. Zach Wahls squared off Thursday over which candidate can flip Iowa's open Republican-held Senate seat, as millions in outside spending reshapes the primary's final stretch.
Consumer and environmental advocates said Monday that they found overcharges buried in the most recent rate-hike request by Nicor.
One week away from Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, with gas prices remaining high, negotiations were set to resume Monday at the largest oil refinery in the Midwest.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $5.17 on Friday, up from $3.75 a year ago.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Company customers are likely to see minor credits on their bills for the next three years, thanks to a $125 million settlement agreement announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
A person suspected of having hantavirus in Winnebago County, Illinois, turned out to be a false alarm, officials said Monday.
The DuPage County Health Department has confirmed its first positive tests for West Nile virus in pools of mosquitoes this year.
The Kane County Health Department was set Monday to offer a free mental health awareness webinar.
At least 80 deaths have been reported in a new Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda, authorities said.
Engineers at Northwestern University have created a wireless polygraph to detect stress.
The owners of Gene & Georgetti steakhouse are suing a concessions operator over their expansion at Midway International Airport.
DraftKings announced Monday that it is closing its sportsbook operation at Wrigley Field after only about two years.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
The Chicago Fire FC announced Wednesday morning that its new stadium in the South Loop will be named McDonald's Park.
The Chicago-born house music track, which began as a personal poem in 1982 and became a defining anthem of the city's house music scene, has been selected for permanent preservation by the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress revealed this year's list of 25 recordings to be preserved for future generations on the National Recording Registry.
David Allan Coe also had hits with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "The Ride" among others.
Some youngsters got a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of making opera Sunday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Matt DeCaro, an actor who was a familiar face on the Chicago stage for many years, died this weekend.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
Investigators are gathering evidence and working to learn more about the two teenage gunmen responsible for the deadly shooting at an Islamic center in San Diego. So far, they have recovered dozens of guns and a crossbow from two homes they've searched.
The World Health Organization held an emergency meeting Tuedsay on the Ebola outbreak in Africa. An American doctor is among those testing positive.
A Glen Ellyn family is demanding criminal charges after they said their mail carrier attacked a hospice nurse as she was leaving their home.
A Chicago man is facing multiple charges for several bizarre and disturbing allegations, accused of posing as an art student and asking women to pose topless for a school project, and sexually abusing some of those women.
A Glen Ellyn family is demanding criminal charges after they said their mail carrier attacked a hospice nurse as she was leaving their home.
In the wake of the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, many Muslim Chicagoans say they're not surprised and that conditions in the world right now are right for attacks like this to happen again.
Many Metra riders with disabilities have been forced to reroute their trips due to Monday's closure of the only elevator providing access to the Electric Line at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.
A man is being held in custody on charges that he tricked two young women into believing he was an art student working on a photography project in Chicago's Northalsted district, and went on to sexually abuse one of them.
It's the last call for one of America's longest-running beers.
Many Metra riders with disabilities have been forced to reroute their trips due to Monday's closure of the only elevator providing access to the Electric Line at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.
Pothole complaints continue everywhere, but especially on one street in the Pullman neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
People in Lincoln Park and Lakeview have rallied against a plan to build a new industrial ComEd electrical substation in their neighborhoods, pushing local and state leaders to get involved.
Monday marks one year since Illinois enacted Karina's Law — legislation aimed at taking firearms out of the hands of people accused of domestic abuse.
Tenants at a South Shore apartment building said they've noticed their rent fluctuating by hundreds of dollars a month due to a change in how their utility billing system is set up.
Jacob Misiorowski pitched six scoreless innings, Brice Turang was 3 for 4 with a two-run homer, and the Milwaukee Brewers topped the Chicago Cubs 5-2 to move into first place in the NL Central.
Rickea Jackson's promising first season with the Chicago Sky is over after it barely began after suffering a torn ACL in Sunday's win against the Minnesota Lynx.
The Chicago Bears met with NFL owners on Tuesday in Orlando to brief them on their push for a new stadium in either Arlington Heights or Hammond.
Touted prospect Colt Emerson launched a three-run homer for his first major league hit, and the Seattle Mariners stopped a three-game slide with a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Jake Bauers homered and drove in four runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3 in the first meeting this season between the longtime NL Central rivals.
A man was shot and killed in the north Chicago suburb of Skokie early Tuesday.
A man is being held in custody on charges that he tricked two young women into believing he was an art student working on a photography project in Chicago's Northalsted district, and went on to sexually abuse one of them.
A suspect was due in court Tuesday on charges that he shot and killed his ex-husband's new husband in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood.
A truck driver was sentenced to over 13 years in prison for smuggling $9.4 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of Skims, Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand.
Police in Michigan City, Indiana, were searching Monday for the person they said shot and killed a 14-year-old boy.
