Coverage
Sangamon County
Independent reporting on CPS, foster care, adoption and family court — the cases the system would rather keep quiet.

Illinois DCFS Director Held in Contempt for Hiding Dead Foster Youth’s Records
October 30, 2026
A judge held Illinois DCFS Director Heidi Mueller in contempt for willfully defying an order to release records about the care of an 18-year-old who died in a foster home.

Illinois DCFS Fined, Director Ordered to Court Over Files in Foster Teen’s 2024 Death
October 27, 2026
A Sangamon County judge found Illinois DCFS willfully broke the records law by withholding caseworker files tied to Mackenzi Felmlee’s death and ordered the director to court.
















