Meredith Newman

Meredith Newman Illinois Answers Project Sept. 29, 2026, 3:50 a.m. CT Illinois childcare centers are facing significant delays in employee background checks, sometimes waiting months for state approval. These delays, caused by staffing shortages and increased federal requirements, force centers to reduce class sizes or delay openings. As a result of staffing issues tied to background checks, some centers risk losing federal funding and cannot meet the high demand for childcare in the state.

A man being held in Sangamon County Jail in the fall of 2024 mixed in with a group getting processed for release and walked out in broad daylight, spurring a brief manhunt. The following May, two people in Cook County Jail were rushed to a nearby hospital after a fire broke out in their cell, one of more than a dozen at the jail last year.

Illinois childcare centers are facing significant delays in employee background checks, sometimes waiting months for state approval. These delays, caused by staffing shortages and increased federal requirements, force centers to reduce class sizes or delay openings. As a result of staffing issues tied to background checks, some centers risk losing federal funding and cannot meet the high demand for childcare in the state.