Demands for investigation grow as child abuse allegations against Illinois stack up

Illinois Senate Republicans are demanding an audit of the state’s child welfare agency after a new series of alleged abuses were reported.

Injustice Watch, a nonprofit news agency focused on Cook County courts, reported the taxpayer funded Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center is subject to thousands of reports of violence including allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children and conflicts of interest.

On Friday, Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, called for an investigation by the Illinois Auditor General.

“It is imperative that we have an independent audit and investigation of this situation outside of the executive branch,” Curran said.

Separately in September, three lawsuits filed detailed alleged abuse of hundreds throughout the state from 1996 to 2021. On Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he expects there to be more allegations ahead.

“I also know there are law firms who are calling everybody from years gone by to ask if they’d like to be part of a lawsuit like that and so we’ll probably see more people joining a lawsuit,” Pritzker said.

One state employee facing allegations reportedly still works for the state. Gov. J.B. Pritzker reacted to that Wednesday.

“I’m not going to make specific comment about the lawsuit other than to say that we want to make sure we’re looking at everything of the allegations that are being made,” Pritzker said.

For the situation at Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center, Curran said Pritzker has failed to get to the bottom of it and said any investigation needs to be independent.

“The families of these children deserve answers and the people of Illinois deserve to know when and how their tax dollars are being used,” Curran said.

The state’s child welfare agency costs taxpayers more than $2.3 billion a year and has long faced scrutiny for poor operations and abuse allegations.