An employee at Fenton High School in Bensenville was fired after sexual abuse allegations were disclosed earlier this month. The local police department is investigating allegations of a decadelong inappropriate relationship with a former student.
Last month, a former Oswego East High School student filed a lawsuit accusing a former teacher of grooming and sexually assaulting her while she was a student. The victim stated, “I was feeling very insecure, very vulnerable, very lonely. And he was, he was a teacher who just made me feel seen and special.”
WLS-Ch. 7 news reported last month that “there has been a 12% increase in allegations of sexual abuse or assault against Chicago Public Schools staff, compared to this time last year.” The CPS Office of Inspector General’s Sexual Allegations Unit has opened 308 new cases. “Beyond the volume of complaints we have also seen more serious allegations,” said Amber Nesbitt, CPS deputy inspector general.
How can a child learn if they are being abused by a teacher or staff member at their school?
In 2018, the Tribune investigation “Betrayed” underscored the pervasiveness of this problem and the trauma caused by CPS staff members reportedly sexually abusing and grooming students. The Tribune chronicled stories of sexual abuse and assault by examining “108 cases and identified 72 school employees as alleged perpetrators in the last decade.” The U.S. Department of Education data estimates that 10% of children in the U.S. experience some form of sexual misconduct by school employees during their K-12 education.
The stories of athletes and students suffering abuse at the hands of those responsible for protecting and educating them is heartbreaking. I hoped with the passage of Faith’s Law in 2021 — named after Faith Colson, an Illinois survivor of child sexual abuse — and a second bill in 2023, that the issues of inappropriate adult-student relationships in schools would abate.
A 2022 report released by the CPS OIG noted 470 sexual allegations for the 2021-22 school year. The OIG’s 2023 report found that on average, since 2018, it has received about 446 complaints per nonpandemic school year.
While reading the details of some of the OIG sexual abuse cases, I was struck by how little accountability there was for teachers and staff members who have preyed on students’ vulnerabilities. Teachers are by law required to report inappropriate contact between adults and students — in many instances, they fail to report. In some cases, they notify the accused teacher or staff member. The state of Illinois, the Chicago Teachers Union, the Chicago Board of Education and the state Department of Children and Family Services must do more to protect children from abusive teachers, staff members and vendors.
The 2023 OIG report paints a graphic picture of abuse through text messages, images and other evidence of abusive employees of public and charter schools. There must be a zero tolerance policy for those who abuse children, and justice must be swift.
As I speak at churches throughout the city of Chicago and around the country, I see broken children and parents who have been failed by weak laws that help enable predators. According to psychologists, common effects of such abuse are low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, difficulty managing emotions, sleep disorders, suicide, relationship problems, sexually promiscuous behavior and substance abuse. Our children are virtually defenseless; therefore, parents, CPS, CTU, DCFS and the Chicago Police Department must be held responsible for protecting them.
The following are suggestions that will help protect our children:
• Congress should pass legislation requiring public school districts, charter schools and other schools to report improper teacher-student relationships to the Department of Education and Department of Justice.
• Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Senate President Don Harmon should help pass legislation revoking the pension of CPS teachers or staff members convicted of felony sexual misconduct for having an improper relationship with a minor.
• Gov. J.B. Pritzker should request an audit of DCFS regarding the number of unfounded cases related to sexual misconduct of minors in public and charter schools.
• Mayor Brandon Johnson and Pritzker should ensure transparency regarding lawsuits settled by CPS and charter schools regarding sexual misconduct of minor children.
• Johnson should create a task force to examine and recommend best practices for keeping CPS and charter school students safe from sexual misconduct.
• The Illinois State Board of Education must act quickly to hold teachers accountable for sexual misconduct or grooming. According to the OIG’s 2021 report, in several cases in which teachers were found to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a child, their licenses were still active.
Our children are the future, and we must protect them and provide them with a quality education. Every person running for public office to represent children and families on the Chicago Board of Education should pledge to make protecting and educating children their priority.
Willie Wilson is a business owner, philanthropist and former mayoral candidate.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
