SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) issued the following response this afternoon after a fire in a Little Village apartment killed 10 children last weekend.

Three of the four mothers of the children who died in the fire had histories with the Department of Child and Family Services. One of the mothers was investigated at least 21 times:

“With that many red flags, it is incomprehensible that no action was taken to protect these children,” Morrison said. “DCFS investigated these families for years and still missed opportunities to make sure the children were safe. It’s unacceptable that nothing was done for this family or these children.

“This fire confirms that there needs to be long-lasting systemic changes in this agency, so we can prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.”