Will County Gazette

State Sen. Win Stoller (R-Germantown Hills) said the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) needs new leadership after a lawsuit was recently filed accusing the department of allowing children to be wrongfully detained.

"The real problem is we’ve got children in left in the care of the state and they are not being cared for properly simply because of incompetent leadership," Stoller told the Will County Gazette. "They’re the real victims."

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.

Janiah Caine, a teenager, is one of eight defendants named in a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges she was wrongfully incarcerated for months 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 against DCFS was filed by Cook County Guardian Charles Golbert. 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.

Regardless, Stoller noted that changes are needed.

"[DCFS Director Marc] Smith has been held in contempt more times than I can remember and I think that is a clear indication that new leadership is what's needed," Stoller told the Gazette.

He added that Gov. JB Pritzker's administration has failed to monitor the agency and, as a result, changes need to be made.

"If I was [Pritzker] I would also be embarrassed to have a director incompetent of running the operation," Stoller said. "It seems to me it would be easy for him to appoint someone more competent.

"I think things will only change at the agency when there is new leadership."