Editorial Roundup: Recent editorials in Illinois newspapers
January 6, 2020
Chicago Tribune
The tragedy of child abuse overlooked: DCFS and the rest of us have to do better
A new report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services counts 123 children who died within a year of family contact with DCFS. In some cases a state worker, a neighbor or a professional required by law to report suspected child abuse didn't adequately respond. Vulnerable children remained in mortal danger.
Those failures contributed to the highest number of deaths after DCFS contact since the fiscal year ending in 2005, when the number was 139 deaths, The Associated Press reported. The lowest toll during that time was 84 in the fiscal year ending in 2010.
The report examines 24 deaths ruled homicides between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019. Some older teens were shot in apparent street crimes, but 13 of those victims were children 5 and younger.
There also were 37 deaths attributed to accidents, seven suicides and 21 cases in which the cause of death was ruled undetermined. Natural causes accounted for additional 34 deaths.
Across Illinois, then, children died of beatings, drownings, starvation and cold. Their home lives were scarred by drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, domestic abuse and severe neglect. The horrors of 2018-19 include the Little Village house fire in which 10 children perished.
Child No. 59 died at age 5 of head injuries and possible hypothermia after DCFS encountered a litany of warning signs that he was in peril. Readers will recognize him as AJ Freund of Crystal Lake, whose mother has pleaded guilty to his murder and whose father awaits trial on the same charge. Two state employees involved in his case have been fired.
Child No. 56, Ja'hir Gibbons, was beaten to death in Chicago at age 2. His mother's boyfriend was charged with murder, and family members have sued an agency that contracted with DCFS, alleging wrongful death.
Despite glimmers of opportunity, nobody rescued these little boys from the violent adults in their lives.
Rewind all the way to 1993: The inspector general's letter accompanying the report draws a straight line from AJ Freund back to Joseph Wallace, age 2, who was hanged by his mother.
Both cases are 'œemblematic of DCFS's failure to look beyond the current crisis to consider the entire history of the family,'ť wrote acting Inspector General Meryl Paniak. 'œIn Wallace, investigators ignored the mother's long history of physical abuse and profound mental illness. In Freund, investigators ignored the parents' long history of addiction, the mother's recent relapse, and the parents' isolation of the children from caring relatives and day care providers.'ť
What can we expect to read in next year's report, after state law has demanded improved follow-up care and home-safety checks? DCFS got a major budget increase to hire employees, lighten caseloads and improve its hotline, which gets some 275,000 calls a year.
Of the 24 homicides in the report, eight happened in households affected by three or more social issues - mental health struggles, domestic violence and substance abuse. Six others came amid two or more of those factors. That's 14 young lives that could reasonably have been considered in elevated danger as DCFS was put on notice that there were problems.
There may always be heartbreaking cases of abuse and neglect of children. In some of these cases, though, missed opportunities to report, or respond to, abuse left children dead.
Yes, there is more work to be done by DCFS - but also by the rest of us.
If you see something that looks seriously amiss, say something.
As we wrote in the wake of AJ Freund's death: It took a village to let AJ die. He had been visibly battered. Mandated reporters saw red flags. Yet he was sent home time after time to endure more abuses.
No system or society should sit easy with this. Or with the many other child deaths in Illinois that could have been prevented.
___
January 7, 2020
The (Champaign) News-Gazette
Acting as its own worst enemy, Illinois continues to ignore its problems.
The latest state population numbers are in, and, once again, they reflect the serious problems facing the State of Illinois.
Population in the Land of Lincoln fell by more than 50,000 from July 2018 to July 2019. The previous year it fell by more than 55,000.
Those are just two of six straight years of population decline, and, despite our elected officials' penchant for ignoring what's going on, it's should be a source of major concern.
Is it? Impossible to say. Indeed, state government appears to be on auto-pilot, doing the same things that got the state in trouble over and over again.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker contends that raising income taxes - among many others - via his proposed progressive income tax constitutional amendment is a long-term, surefire cure for what ails Illinois.
But if people are leaving because they already think taxes are too high, as they have indicated in public opinion polls, why should anyone believe that higher and higher taxes will not only not stem the tide but make the state more attractive to newcomers?
Illinois' population stands at about 12.7 million. But it's losing ground. Once the fifth-most populated state, it's already fallen to No. 6 behind Pennsylvania.
It stands to lose at least one member of its delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives - perhaps two - following the 2020 decennial census. That impending decline means that our state will have less influence in Washington as compared to other states.
It also means that our state will have fewer people to pay taxes and lower incomes on which to base the taxes paid, even as state officials continue their Springfield spending spree.
Wirepoints.com, a financial news and analysis website that focuses on Illinois, reports that over the past two years 'œthe state's tax base shrunk by $6.8 billion and $5.6 billion respectively, as those who left took their incomes with them.'ť
It estimated those who left in 2018 represented a decline of 'œ$5.6 billion in lost Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)'ť that 'œcost the state approximately $230 million in additional income tax revenue.'ť
'œThat number doesn't include the millions in sales, property, gas, and other taxes that weren't collected as a result of fewer people living in Illinois,'ť Wirepoints stated.
Here's the real kicker for those who doubt the seriousness of the problem.
While all the states bordering Illinois have been steadily gaining population, Illinois has been steadily losing it.
What are they doing that Illinois is not? Well, for starters, they haven't spent themselves into effective bankruptcy. They aren't presiding over an economic climate that is hostile to job creators.
Illinois is getting by for now. It's enjoying a historically low unemployment rate that's been dragged steadily downward by a strong national economy. But recoveries don't last forever. Eventually, the economy will slow, and then, owing to its financial weakness and an apparent refusal to do anything substantive to change it, Illinois will be in even bigger trouble.
The exodus will grow at an even faster rate, leaving fewer and fewer of us to do what's necessary to keep this state barely afloat.
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December 31, 2019
(Decatur) Herald & Review
Approach pot with care, not recklessness
To your marks, get set, toke!
Or consume.
Or whatever it is you think you'll be doing this morning if you join thousands of Illinoisans by legally indulging in cannabis for the first time in the state's history.
But keep in mind all of cautions the reasonable experts have been providing as well.
It's unlikely that the legendary pot-smoking scene from 'œAnimal House'ť is re-enacted. That's the scene where naive Pinto, played by Tom Hulce, asks, 'œI won't go schizo, will I?'ť and Donald Sutherland's Professor Jennings replies, 'œIt's a distinct possibility'ť while the audience cackles at Pinto's lack of experience.
Go slowly.
All Illinois dispensaries must post signs stating, "Cannabis consumption can impair cognition and driving, is for adult use only, may be habit forming, and should not be used by pregnant or breastfeeding women.'ť
Even the most pro-pot campaigner should agree about how reasonable that notice is.
In fact, in some ways it may not go far enough. THC is a psychoactive drugs. 'œPsychoactive'ť is the word that troubles some folks. Psychoactive is defined as 'œ(chiefly of a drug) affecting the mind.'ť
That might scare some reading on the surface. But dozens of products '“ some you can purchase right now, some that need a prescription, some that are decidedly illegal '“ are psychoactive. The key is how their use affects each individual. And that cannot be predicted.
If you're uncomfortable with the idea of trying a new product, whether your fear is of going 'œschizo'ť or something else you find to be a legitimate concern, stay away.
If you're a veteran of illegal use, keep in mind what you're consuming. It's common sense advice, but worth repeating '“ be aware of the THC content of what you're using, and remember that a slow build of experience is going to far outpace the regret of using too much too soon.
Everyone has at least one friend who threw up after their first sip of alcohol, who threw up after their first cigar or cigarette, or just doesn't care for the result of some of the drugs our society has deemed acceptable for recreation.
As is the case with many things we limit to purchase by adults only, some of us won't see the attraction or have the taste for the item or its effects. And some will inevitably imbibe more than they ought to. Cannabis may help some people deal with physical or mental pain. It won't help everyone, and inevitably there will be people who over-consume.
Think about the advice you'd give someone who is drinking alcohol for the first time. Then follow it. Remember, there's not a contest determining who is standing tallest after the most consumption.