North Egypt News

State Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) lent his support to state House Republican Leader Rep. Jim Durkin’s (R-Westchester) call for an investigation into the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

“House Republican Leader Jim Durkin has 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," Severin wrote on Facebook. "I'm joining his efforts demanding answers for our most vulnerable children.” 

Smith incurred a third contempt of court charge in less than a week.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Cook County Juvenile Court issued the first two charges in response to the agency’s top official allegedly blundering two cases, with the third charge stemming from his failure to find appropriate housing for a 17-year-old boy who has been confined at a psychiatric hospital since last September.

Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert told Chicago’s CBS2 what had transpired is unique.

The station reported that the DCFS faces a daily fine of $2,000 until children are released from the facilities they have purportedly languished in for months.

Durkin wrote to Rep. Camille Lilly (D-Oak Park), the chairperson of the Human Services Appropriations Committee, stating that with more than $1 billion allocated to it, the agency has a responsibility to protect Illinois’ most vulnerable residents, a matter that goes beyond partisan politics, CBS2 reported.

“That is why it is so heartbreaking to see that DCFS Director Marc Smith is being held in contempt of court for failing to do his job,” Durkin said in the correspondence.

Smith last March purportedly told the station that his agency is “responsible for the care and well-being of children who are being abused and neglected in the state of Illinois.”

“And for me, there is nothing more important than making sure that our system is accountable for the work that we do,” the DCFS head said.