News Local/State

DCFS Director To Resign Due To Illness

by The Associated Press, with additional reporting from Illinois Public Radio
 

The director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is to resign after a cancer diagnosis.

Gov. Pat Quinn announced Friday afternoon that Richard Calica would leave the post. Calica's chief of staff Denise Gonzales is to serve as the agency's acting director.
 
Calica has held the post since December 2011. He said in a statement that working for the agency has been "the most exciting and rewarding time of my career in child welfare.''

Calica’s resignation comes after radio station WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times reported child deaths resulting from abuse and neglect are up - even after the department had investigated the families.

The governor’s office indicated Calica’s resignation had nothing to do with the results of that investigation.