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Aurora woman gets 2 years in toddler's 2011 drowning death

An Aurora woman who was caring for a 2-year-old who drowned in her pool in August 2011 was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison.

Tracy L. Kennedy, 41, of the 2700 block of Squaw Valley Trail, pleaded guilty in March to endangering the life or health of a child. She has been free on $50,000 bail since September 2011.

Kennedy faced a sentence of two to five years and Will County prosecutors sought a three-year sentence.

Kennedy was baby sitting for 2-year-old Abigail Holland of Aurora on Aug. 2, 2011, when the toddler drowned in Kennedy's aboveground, backyard pool.

Authorities said Kennedy was caring for seven children at the time of Abigail's drowning and three of her four biological children also were home at the time.

The Illinois Department of Child and Family Services requires home day-care center operators to get licenses, but Kennedy did not have one. She applied for a license on June 21 of that year but withdrew the application Aug. 9, just a week after Abigail's drowning, according to DCFS documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Documents show Kennedy was warned by mail June 17 that she needed to "immediately stop operating" a child care facility in her home after a DCFS investigator paid an unannounced visit June 9.

A day earlier, prosecutors argued, a DCFS investigator and an Aurora police officer saw seven children swimming unsupervised in the pool while five other children were in the home.

On Aug. 2, after calling 911 about 10:40 a.m., Kennedy told police she noticed Abigail was missing, saw two doors open leading to the backyard, then found the toddler in the water.

Kennedy told police she began administering CPR, but it wasn't enough. Abigail was pronounced dead at Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora.

Prosecutors also argued that Kennedy was found guilty in May 2011 of reckless driving stemming from a February 2008 crash that sent an Aurora woman to the hospital in critical condition and injured seven children in the woman's car.

In September 2011, Kennedy was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in North Aurora, according to Kane County court records. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to court supervision, fines and costs and ordered to attend a victim impact panel, records show.

DuPage County court records show Kennedy pleaded guilty and received court supervision for a June 2001 citation for failure to give aid or information after a crash that caused property damage.

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