By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The latest report of abuse of Illinois’ most vulnerable children has Illinois Senate Republicans calling for an investigation.

The alleged abuse was at Aunt Martha’s, a Chicago care center which the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had been using.

“A recent Injustice Watch report outlined thousands of reports of violence, including the most serious allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children under the care of this state-funded center,” Senate Minority Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) said at an online news conference Friday. 

Aunt Martha’s had employed Marc Davis, who directed DCFS for much of Gov. JB Pritzker’s time in office, but Curran did not draw a direct line between Davis and the allegations.

“It was Gov. Pritzker’s hand-picked director,” continued Curran,”that gave a no-bid contract to a security company that Aunt Martha’s chief operations officer raised concern about, after allegations surfaced that the guards were making sexual innuendos to the children and sharing pornographic material.”

Curran is calling for an auditor general’s investigation.

Alex Gough, a spokesman for the governor, responded via email:

“The protection of our most vulnerable children is a responsibility that must be taken seriously. So, it’s disappointing that Leader Curran would rather play political games by spreading falsehoods in public than have meaningful conversations with the Director he and his caucus voted to appoint 

“The administration has made investments in the agency not seen in a generation. After supporting Bruce Rauner’s disastrous cuts and failing to support any of Governor Pritzker’s major investments, Senate Republicans have no legs to stand on and must result to grandstanding. 

“They know full well that many of the claims in the article that are prompting this action are demonstrably inaccurate and misleading.  The insinuation that DCFS improperly or nefariously acted to obscure facts in its administrative paperwork is false. It is up to department grantees to earnestly and diligently oversee their own subcontractors. So, once confidence in the model and operations were lost, the administration took decisive action and terminated the contract with Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center.”

The emphasis is Gough’s. 

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].