Rockford Sun

Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) recently drew attention to a display at the Capitol that is meant to raise awareness of child abuse.

“ROAR for AJ is a group out of Crystal Lake that brings awareness to child abuse issues and the state’s broken DCFS system,” Syverson posted on Facebook. “The group was formed on behalf of AJ Freund, who was murdered at the age of 5 by his parents three years ago this month despite repeated DCFS involvement. ROAR brought to Springfield 347 pairs of shoes to display representing the number of children that have died the last 3 years after involvement in DCFS.”

The Chicago Tribune reported DCFS had multiple contacts with AJ Freund’s mother before he was born, and later, with his mother and father after his birth. In October 2019, AJ Freund’s estate filed a federal lawsuit against a DCFS investigator and the supervisor who handled the final hotline complaint regarding AJ’s hip bruise and filthy home. The lawsuit, naming AJ’s siblings as his legal heirs, alleges the employees showed an “inhumane indifference to AJ’s safety” in their handling of the Dec. 18, 2018, hotline call.

On April 6, the ROAR for AJ Facebook page noted that the organization collected the exact number of shoes needed to represent the number of children lost between 2019 and 2021. 

"We collected exactly the number of shoes needed," the group posted on Facebook. "We didn’t hit 1,122 to go back the last 10 years but we have literally the exact amount needed to use the time frame 2019 (AJ), 2020 and 2021. Roar was created in 2019 and has been ROARing for those three years. The year AJ was forsaken by our system forward. 2019 - 123 child deaths; 2020 - 102 child deaths; 2021- 122 child deaths. Every single pair I handled with love. And imagined the child who could have once worn them."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported approximately 1 in 7 children experienced child abuse and neglect last year.

According to KFVS 12, legislators on both sides of the aisle used the anniversary of AJ's death to call for reform of DCFS.

“Doing nothing is not a solution to the Department of Children and Family Services,” Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Champaign) said, according to KFVS.