Beth Hundsdorfer
Herald-Whig
Denver, CO, United States
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Past articles by Beth:
Watchdog seeks harsher penalties in wake of abuse at state mental health center
The watchdog for the Illinois Department of Human Services is seeking harsher penalties against health care workers who obstruct abuse and neglect investigations. → Read More
Report Finds ‘code of silence’ at mental health facility where staff abused and neglected patients
Several employees at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center attempted to cover up a brutal assault on a patient, according to a new report by the watchdog office within the → Read More
Chilling audio provides rare glimpse into abuse at troubled Illinois residential facility
ANNA, Ill. — The disturbing 911 call began with sounds of a struggle, then a voice that sounded like a child’s cried out, “Let me go.” When the police dispatcher → Read More
Pritzker calls for changes after 'awful' reports of abuse at developmental center
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called patient abuses at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in rural Anna “awful” and “deeply concerning,” and he said the future of the facility → Read More
Brutal beatings, abuse plague state-run mental health facility, investigation reveals
As Blaine Reichard rose from a breakfast table at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois, a worker ordered him to pull up his sagging pants. → Read More
State audit finds billions in unemployment fraud
SPRINGFIELD — A state audit released Thursday found nearly $2 billion in federal money intended to help unemployed Illinoisans during the pandemic was lost to fraudulent claims in Illinois. → Read More
State audit finds billions in unemployment fraud
A state audit released Thursday found that nearly $2 billion in federal money intended to help unemployed Illinoisans during the pandemic was lost to fraudulent claims. → Read More
DCFS timeline shows agency visited family one day before 8-year-old's murder
Amaria Osby's friends and family were to gather Tuesday, not to celebrate her 8th birthday, but to attend her funeral. Andrea Hagler, Amaria's mother, won't be there. She is charged with the first-degree murder of her daughter. → Read More
11th contempt citation filed against DCFS director
SPRINGFIELD — On Thursday afternoon, a Cook County judge found Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith in contempt of court for the 11th time for violating → Read More
10th contempt citation filed against DCFS director as 13-year-old locked in psych ward
Leah is a 13-year-old girl under Department of Children and Family Services care who lives in a psychiatric ward in a Chicago hospital. → Read More
Audit finds DCFS failed to implement reforms
SPRINGFIELD — Ta’Naja Barnes was two years old when she was found wrapped in a urine-soaked blanket amid rodent droppings, garbage and rotting food. → Read More
DCFS director: 'Stuck kids' docket a problem years in the making
Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith has faced nine cases of contempt of court in recent weeks for failing to comply with a judge's order to place the state's most vulnerable children in an appropriate setting. In a recent interview with Capitol News Illinois, he outlined the scope of the problem and why it's not new or easy to solve. → Read More
'Stuck kids' docket details challenges for DCFS wards in improper placements
Lawyers detailed the challenges faced by DCFS wards who have low IQs, psychiatric disabilities, troubled homes, traumatic abuse, a lack of resources and a lack of placement options. → Read More
‘Stuck kids’ docket details challenges for DCFS wards in improper placements
SPRINGFIELD — The weekly docket for children who are wards of the state and waiting for placements recommended by the Department of Children and Family Services after an assessment of → Read More
Pardoned fire chief now also a police officer
Jerame Simmons spent nearly 24 years as a felon after pleading guilty to arson in 1999 until a 2021 pardon cleared that record and allowed him to head the department that put out the fire he started. Now, he's not only a fire chief, but he's also a part-time police officer, allowed to make arrests, carry a gun and use lethal force if warranted. → Read More
Pritzker taps former Rauner chief of staff, former judge for Prisoner Review Board
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday named a former Cook County judge and the chief of staff of his Republican predecessor to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. → Read More
Republicans seek DCFS performance audit
In the wake of the recent deaths of five children who were in contact with the state's child protection agency and eight contempt citations against the agency's director, House Republicans on Wednesday asked for a performance audit at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. → Read More
DCFS releases details of 8-year-old's death as hearing on consent decree looms
DCFS releases details of 8-year-old's death as hearing on consent decree looms → Read More
Two children die after families contacted by DCFS
SPRINGFIELD — Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood admits he has seen a lot of horrible things in his 20 years as an emergency room nurse in Chicago trauma centers and → Read More
Clemency hearings indefinitely postponed
Without a Prisoner Review Board quorum, clemency hearings have been postponed indefinitely. → Read More