For more than two decades, the ACLU of Illinois has worked to improve conditions for children under the care of the child welfare agency, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Last week, the ACLU was in court on our motion to jump start reforms at DCFS after months of fruitless negotiations failed to make necessary changes at the Department.

Associate Legal Director Ben Wolf told the court that the children could not wait any longer, making clear that the Department is in “crisis.” The ACLU’s motion comes after a series of reports in the Chicago Tribune and legislative hearings that made public that DCFS is failing the children in their care. Many of these issues had been the subject of ACLU concerns, expressed directly to the Department, over several months.

Appearing before U. S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso on February 19th, the ACLU asked the court to put in place a group of court-appointed experts, who could report back to the court in a short time frame about immediate and long-term changes to the Department’s operation.

The ability of DCFS to function faced another challenge this week when Governor Bruce Rauner issued his budget proposal, which included significant cuts to DCFS programs. In addition to slashing general operating funds from DCFS, the Governor’s announced budget would eliminate all support and assistance for DCFS wards once they reach the age of 18.

The ACLU’s Wolf described cutting off all financial support to children at that point as “cruel.”
It is fair to say that DCFS has been in crisis mode for several months. As Wolf pointed out to the court last week, at least six different people have run the Department over the past 15 months. Governor Rauner has just appointed another new Director. It is telling that in court, the lawyer for DCFS did not dispute the ACLU’s representation, but simply asked for more time so that the new agency head could get acclimated.

The chaos within DCFS also could be seen last week after WBEZ reported that children in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center were regularly held for ext ended periods of time (up to 190 days in one instance) waiting for DCFS to come pick the youth up and place them somewhere outside the detention center. When asked about this situation, a DCFS spokesman said that the department knew of the problem, but had no plans to fix the situation.

There must be specific, detailed and funded plans for addressing these problems. That is why the ACLU is back in court and why we will be fighting for adequate budgets to fund those plans. The State of Illinois has taken custody of the children in DCFS – they are our children. We must ensure that they are safe and well-cared for.

A year ago today was a big day for many couples in Cook County.  They were allowed to legally get married. In a case brought by the ACLU of Illinois and our friends at Lambda Legal, a federal court judge in Chicago lifted Illinois' ban on the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, not waiting for June 1st, when Illinois' new marriage equality law went into effect.   It was a joyous day, with lots of couples streaming to the Daley Center to be married.

Since February 21 of 2014, more than 6,500 gay and lesbian couples have married Cook County. That’s more than 13,000 citizens now exercising and celebrating their rights. It’s undoubtedly something we can all celebrate along with them.

The Cook County Clerk’s Office took a detailed look into the thousands of newlywed couples, finding that equality in Cook County now spans all age groups, races, education levels, and home zip codes.

According to the study, 66 percent of the licenses were issued to couples in the Chicago-area, but more than 1800 of the newlyweds were from out the area and travelled here for the sole purpose of legalizing their unions.  For almost a quarter of them, the couples were reaffirming their previously legalized civil unions, now honoring them as the marriages. Marriage equality was achieved for the rest of Illinois later in 2014, adding to what was already an historic and exciting year for marriage rights.

The marriages were among couples of all ages, with the average being 42, but with couples ranging from 17 years of age all the way to 93. Of the Cook County same-sex newlyweds, 52 percent are male and 48 percent are female, 68 percent are Caucasian, 14 percent Hispanic, 13 percent African-American, 4 percent Asian, and 1 percent racially identified as “other.” More than 80 percent of them are either college-educated or in the process of earning their degree, with the most popular professions being teachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, and members of the U.S. military, once again proving that loving couples come in all forms.

“As we move closer to achieving the freedom to marry all across the United States, this is a day to celebrate and remember what has been achieved in Illinois,” said ACLU of Illinois Executive Director Colleen Connell.

While it was 6,500 same-sex couples who got married in the last year in Cook County, this number actually reflects a victory for fairness and for all residents of Illinois.