For Chicago Magazine

Duaa Eldeib

Flowers and toys mark the grave of Sema'j Crosby at Elmhurst Cemetery on May 30, 2017. She was found dead the month before in her Joliet Township home.

DCFS report shows litany of failures in death of 17-month-old Semaj Crosby

May 23, 2019 at 4:28 a.m.

A new report describes a litany of failures by state child welfare investigators who opened at least 10 investigations into abuse and neglect in the home of 17-month-old Semaj Crosby...

Illinois child welfare head pledges reform after recent deaths of children

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

State child welfare Director George Sheldon said Tuesday he is considering a major change in the way the agency conducts abuse and neglect investigations, saying investigators could benefit from access...

State Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, is among a group of llinois lawmakers demanding answers from the Department of Children and Family Services about recent child abuse deaths.

Lawmakers want answers from state child welfare officials

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

Some Illinois lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Children and Family Services about recent child abuse deaths and new policies that push investigators to speed up abuse and...

Robbin Carroll, founder of I Grow Chicago, hugs kids before a memorial for Manuel “Manny” Aguilar on Sept. 7, 2016. She said the death of the 4-year-old left an open wound from which the community has yet to heal.

After 3 kids die despite DCFS involvement, it urges faster probes

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

They found him wrapped in a Superman T-shirt, his burned body so tiny that first responders thought he was 9 months old. Authorities would later discover that 4-year-old Manuel Aguilar...

George Sheldon, director of DCFS, departs a news conference he attended with Gov. Bruce Rauner in Chicago on March 21, 2016.

Director of Illinois DCFS may leave amid ethics probe

June 14, 2024 at 6:43 p.m.

George Sheldon boasted a can-do resume when he took the helm of Illinois' scandal-ridden child welfare agency in 2015 and proposed sweeping reforms. Two years later, the director of Illinois'...

A woman dressed for the rain and cold walks along South State Street in the Loop on April 30, 2017.

Several rivers expected to flood as rain continues battering Illinois

May 23, 2019 at 4:22 a.m.

April's final weekend produced an onslaught of storms that prompted flood warnings and triggered the pumping of sewage and storm runoff into Lake Michigan, said weather and municipal officials Sunday....

Justin Doyle speaks at the Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton. His friend Travis Castle, 14, was killed in 2008 when someone staying in the house they were burglarizing shot him. Doyle, then 15, was charged with his friend's murder, even though he didn't pull the trigger and wasn't armed.

Man jailed at 15 under controversial felony murder rule receives commuted sentence

May 23, 2019 at 4:20 a.m.

They gathered around him, spilling into the kitchen and onto the stairs. Some wanted to ask Justin Doyle about his time in prison, what he ate and what it was...

Claims overwhelm commission investigating Burge torture

May 23, 2019 at 4:18 a.m.

Chicago police interrogated Arnold Day for several hours before he confessed to two homicides. At trial, Day testified that he confessed only after one officer kicked him in the back...

Suburban man shot, killed on business trip to Costa Rica

May 23, 2019 at 4:19 a.m.

A north suburban man was shot and killed in Costa Rica during a business trip for a planned luxury condo development, his family confirmed. Michael Caspi, of Riverwoods, had visited...

Police eye ‘possibility of new victims’ in married couple sex abuse case

May 23, 2019 at 4:16 a.m.

Police have widened their investigation into a married couple charged with sexually abusing three teenage boys, and the state's child welfare agency has removed the couple's children from their home....

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