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In the latest case, DCFS has kept a 15-year-old boy at a psychiatric facility even after it was determined to no longer be medically necessary as of Jan. 31, 2022.
Three years ago, many of us first learned the name A.J. Freund - the 5-year-old whose death at the hands of his parents put new focus on the state's child welfare agency. CBS 2's Chris Tye reports.
Three years ago, many of us first learned the name A.J. Freund - the 5-year-old whose death at the hands of his parents put new focus on the state's child welfare agency.
Authorities are looking for a missing teenage boy who stole a vehicle from a middle school parking lot last week.
For years, we have been investigating problems inside the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. We have now heard from someone who has been on the inside.
We're getting a fresh look at an old problem. A shortage of staffers to care for the state's most vulnerable.
The mismanagement of children in state care has led to the executive in charge of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services being held in contempt of court eight times since the start of the year.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith has now been slapped with an eighth contempt of court order for failing to place a teen in the department's care appropriately.
A Cook County judge ordered Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith held in contempt of court for a seventh time Thursday for failing to place a child appropriately.
We have been exposing the issue for years – kids locked in psychiatric hospitals for longer than medically necessary while in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
In an unprecedented action, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith was hit Thursday with two more contempt of court orders.
They were supposed to be protected by the Department of Children and Family Services, but instead, two children from downstate Illinois have died in the last month.
A judge on Thursday afternoon ordered Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith in contempt of court for the fourth time in two months.
He heads the department mandated to care for the state's most vulnerable children, and on Friday, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith was on the legislative hot seat.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services as of Thursday had still yet to place a teen who has been locked in a psychiatric hospital for four months beyond when he was ready for release.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith was held in contempt of court again on Thursday for violating the rights of a teenage boy.
A family expressed grief and anger Tuesday after an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services caseworker was stabbed to death downstate.
Damari Perry was just 6 years old, and prosecutors said he was punished – forced to take an ice-cold shower by his mother – before his death last week. As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, it turns out that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had been in touch with Damari's family before.
llinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Westchester) called for hearings and an investigation after state Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith was held in contempt of court for violating the rights of children.
In a stunning move, a Cook County Juvenile Court judge issued two contempt of court orders against Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Marc Smith for violating the rights of two children left languishing in facilities for months. Now accountability - in a stunning move, a juvenile court judge issued two contempt of court orders against Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Director Marc Smith for violating the rights of two children left languishing in facilities for months. DCFS could soon be fined as much as $2,000 a day until those children are properly placed.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services caseworker Deidre Silas was stabbed to death Tuesday afternoon while conducting a home visit in downstate Sangamon County.
Hundreds of children who can't go home to their families have instead been left in psych wards for months.
It is nightmare fuel for parents - your child coming home from school with mystery bruises and being unable to explain what happened. A Belmont Heights mom said she lived that nightmare, and the fight that followed to get her out of that school made things worse. So she called CBS 2's Marie Saavedra and got quick results.
The Better Government Association wanted to know if YouthCare - managed by for-profit Meridian Health - is working, but the state declined their request for information, so the BGA is going to court.
Police finally arrested the girl's abusers and finally Springfield took notice of how she was the one locked up long after she was cleared to leave
A boil water order has been lifted in south suburban Dixmoor, after a major water main break affected more than half of the village's homes earlier this week.
The state of Illinois is joining the World Health Organization independently after President Trump fully withdrew the United States from the organization in January.
University of Illinois Chicago police issued an alert on Tuesday afternoon after a deadly shooting in a UI Health parking garage.
Chicago police are investigating a shooting at a White Castle on Chicago's Near West Side Tuesday afternoon.
The Northwestern Wildcats won't play in their new $862 million football stadium until their third home game of the 2026 season, when they'll host their Big Ten home opener at the new Ryan Field on Oct. 2.
Hillary Clinton will appear for a deposition on Feb. 26, while former President Bill Clinton will appear on Feb. 27, according to the House Oversight Committee.
The House on Tuesday voted 217 to 214 to fund major parts of the government and end the partial shutdown. Follow live updates.
All federal immigration agents in Minneapolis will begin wearing body cameras, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Monday, a policy that could be rolled out nationwide.
With U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi giving up his seat in the House to run for the Senate, voters in Illinois' 8th Congressional District face a crowded ballot in the Democratic primary on March 17.
With U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly giving up her seat in the House to run for the Senate, voters in Illinois' 2nd Congressional District face a crowded ballot in the Democratic primary on March 17.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Does the Chicago Bears' dramatic improvement this season, culminating in their first playoff run in five years, change the discussion about where they will build a new stadium?
Investigators are combing through the house of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, in search of clues to the 84-year-old's disappearance.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The 2026 Grammy Awards recognized the best of the best in music from last year, with big wins for Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. Here's the full list of winners and nominees.
Complete closure of the performing arts center in Washington, D.C., will start on July 4, Mr. Trump said. It's not yet clear how extensive the changes to the building might be.
Courtney Drysdale, 30, of Momence, was shot and killed Monday morning while opening up the bar she owned, The Line, right west of the Illinois-Indiana state line. Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey discusses what happened and the search for the shooter.
Chicago’s Kennedy-King College on Tuesday celebrated a redesigned food market designed to make sure all its students have enough to eat.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the extended forecast.
United Airlines is planning a major technology update that will take down its online reservation system early Wednesday.
Police believe Nancy Guthrie, 84, was taken against her will from her Arizona home this past weekend. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.
University of Illinois Chicago police issued an alert on Tuesday afternoon after a deadly shooting in a UI Health parking garage.
Chicago police are investigating a shooting at a White Castle on Chicago's Near West Side Tuesday afternoon.
Courtney Drysdale, 30, of Momence, was shot and killed while opening up the bar she owned near the Illinois-Indiana state line.
A boil water order has been lifted in south suburban Dixmoor, after a major water main break affected more than half of the village's homes earlier this week.
Investigators are combing through the house of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, in search of clues to the 84-year-old's disappearance.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, the busiest trauma center in Illinois, is sounding an alarm, as doctors brace for an influx of patients because of federal funding cuts under the Trump administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
A Lake County woman has a warning for other homeowners, after she said a contractor took thousands of dollars, destroyed part of her home, and then vanished, even leaving his tools behind.
The crash on June 7, 2024, killed 76-year-old Bernice Pawilan. The driver had a history of traffic offenses, and, in fact, wasn't supposed to be on the road at all.
The Northwestern Wildcats won't play in their new $862 million football stadium until their third home game of the 2026 season, when they'll host their Big Ten home opener at the new Ryan Field on Oct. 2.
The Blackhawks played without captain Nick Foligno, who missed his second straight game with a mid-body injury.
Bam Adebayo and Pelle Larsson each score 20 points as the Miami Heat dominate the Chicago Bulls 134-91.
The Fighting Illini, who haven't lost since falling 83-80 at home to Nebraska on Dec. 13, held the Huskers to four field goals in the first 13 minutes of the second half.
The former UIC Flames coach is back leading young men at the high school level, this time at Lincoln-Way East in the south Chicago suburb of Frankfort.
University of Illinois Chicago police issued an alert on Tuesday afternoon after a deadly shooting in a UI Health parking garage.
Courtney Drysdale, 30, of Momence, was shot and killed Monday morning while opening up the bar she owned, The Line, right west of the Illinois-Indiana state line.
The man whom Jill Biden divorced for the eventual 46th President of the United States is now in jail on murder charges.
Investigators are combing through the house of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, in search of clues to the 84-year-old's disappearance.
Prosecutors said Sharon Charitine Sackman, 52, gave the counterfeit weight loss drugs to three people in Chicago in 2023.
