South Cook News

Senator John Curran addressed concerns regarding Aunt Martha's Home in Chicago, stating, "My colleagues and I have been shocked to read about the alleged abuse of children and arrests of staff for abuse at the state-funded facility Aunt Martha’s Home in Chicago," in an October 7 Facebook post.

"My colleagues and I have been shocked to read about the alleged abuse of children and arrests of staff for abuse at the state-funded facility Aunt Martha's Home in Chicago," said John F. Curran, State Senator, according to Facebook. "Gov. Pritzker's Administration's failure to protect abused youth in the state's care from physical and sexual abuse and their attempts to thwart inquiries into the abuse is extremely alarming. Since the Pritzker Administration refuses to come forward in an accountable and transparent manner, we are moving forward in calling for an audit of DCFS' actions, payments and communications with this center to provide answers for the child victims, their families, and the people of Illinois."

According to Curran's Facebook post, he shared a link to a CBS News report highlighting a resolution filed by Senate Republicans. This resolution calls for an independent audit of the facility. This year, several employees of Aunt Martha’s Integrated Care Center have faced arrest and charges related to child abuse. The CBS News report states that Trulon Henry, the center manager, was arrested and charged with sexually abusing a young girl. Prior to this incident, Antonio Hopkins, employed through a third-party security firm, was also arrested and charged with child abuse.

Screenshot of Sen. John F. Curran's Oct. 7 Facebook post | Senator John Curran Facebook page

Curran said in an October 4 article, "According to our analysis the state has paid over $7.5 million to the security company alert over the past few years, most of which about $2.3 million appears to have been paid out after the first allegation of abuse."

Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness provides various healthcare services along with what it describes as "a trauma-informed continuum of integrated care for DCFS youth." For youths under the custody of the Department of Family and Children’s Services (DCFS), Aunt Martha’s offers supportive services including Clinical Intervention for Placement Preservation. This program involves key individuals in a youth's life alongside their caseworker and a trained facilitator to assess their needs and strengths.

In filing the resolution, Curran and Senator Tracy seek an independent audit to review issues such as abuse allegations, background checks, staff hiring practices, backdating protective plans, contract monitoring extent, proper screening and hiring procedures for staff, and thorough investigation into all allegations of abuse and mistreatment. They also call for scrutiny over state funds spent at Aunt Martha’s and on its security company while examining whether Illinois State officials acted outside legal boundaries concerning these allegations.

Curran has represented Illinois' 41st District since 2017. His previous roles include serving three terms on the DuPage County Board as Vice Chairman and working in the Cook County Attorney’s Office for 19 years during the 1990s.