DCFS: ‘Significant miscommunication’ within the agency led to missed
court dates
[August 14, 2026]
ByJerry Nowicki
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
blamed “significant miscommunication within the Department” for missing
two court dates and its failure to respond to a lawsuit filed by Capitol
News Illinois seeking the release of public records.
Gov. JB Pritzker told CNI on Wednesday he’s received assurances that the
agency won’t miss a third upcoming court date on Sept. 9.
“Either through the notification process or some mix-up, they did not
know about the court date,” Pritzker said. “And, so, they absolutely
want to show up. It’s not like they’re avoiding it. We’ve got a great
director there who is trying to do the right things.”
Capitol News Illinois sued the agency in March after it declined to
release personnel files of two caseworkers and one supervisor who were
responsible for monitoring Mackenzi Felmlee, a teenage girl who died
while in foster care.
The lawsuit filed by Springfield attorney Don Craven in Sangamon County
court alleged DCFS violated the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and
asked a judge to compel DCFS to produce the records.
Craven’s office served DCFS with a summons on March 23, which was
accepted by an office associate at the department’s main office in
downtown Springfield. But DCFS did not respond to that lawsuit, leading
CNI to file a motion for default judgment.
On June 10, Judge Jack Davis II issued an order finding DCFS “willfully
and intentionally violated” FOIA when it failed to release the requested
information. He ordered DCFS to produce the records within five days and
to pay CNI’s costs, attorney fees and a $5,000 civil penalty.
Second hearing missed
After the department missed that hearing, CNI filed another motion
asking the court to order DCFS and its director, Heidi Mueller, to
appear personally and explain the agency’s failure to comply. Craven’s
office issued a notice of hearing on that motion and again caused the
notice to be personally served on the department. An office coordinator
was served with that document, but DCFS failed to appear at the Aug. 11
hearing.
Judge Davis ordered Mueller and the agency to appear on Sept. 9 and
threatened to begin assessing daily fines to the agency for its
continued noncompliance.
At two separate media appearances this week, Pritzker said he believes
DCFS will appear at the next hearing. Neither the governor nor the
agency spoke to the nature of the miscommunication.
“I’m certain that if the communication process is improved, and that’s
what we’re looking to do, to make sure that they know when the court
hearing is, they will show up,” Pritzker said.
A spokesperson for DCFS said a fuller explanation will be given in
court.
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Gov. JB Pritzker takes questions at the Illinois State Fairgrounds
in Springfield on Aug. 12, 2026. (Capitol News Illinois photo by
Jerry Nowicki)
“Because this is in active litigation, DCFS will work with counsel to
resolve the issues in the court,” spokesperson Heather Tarczan said.
“Unfortunately, there was significant miscommunication within the
Department regarding this matter. The Department will explain the
situation in detail to the court. The Department did not and would never
intentionally disregard the directions of a court or miss a court
appearance. The Department is committed to working toward a favorable
outcome for all parties as soon as possible.”
Mackenzi Flemlee’s care
CNI requested the documents while trying to learn more about the care
Felmlee, 18, received before she was found dead in her foster home in
May 2024.
According to doctors, she died from a blood clot that hit her lungs. She
was found struggling to breathe at the bottom of the basement stairs in
a Fairview Heights foster home. Her neck, shoulders, legs and face were
bruised, and her dehydrated body weighed just 90 pounds.
Her foster mother, Shemeka Williams, and foster grandmother, Cornelia
Reid, are charged with murder in connection with Mackenzi’s death. Both
are being held in the St. Clair County Jail.
Williams was licensed through Lutheran Children and Family Services, a
nonprofit agency that provides foster care services on contract with
DCFS.
According to a timeline of the incident released by DCFS, Williams
purportedly told an LCFS caseworker during an in-person visit that
Mackenzi was “struggling” two days before her death.
The caseworker, however, did not document that conversation until five
days after Mackenzi’s death. LCFS later reported the visit was made by
phone, not in person.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick
Foundation.
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