This is Not a Field Trip

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Jun 9, 2004 12:10PM

Chicagoist is feeling bad for the three kids who were dropped off at a Far South Side fire station yesterday. They were told my their mother that they were going on a field trip.. except their mother just left them there with a note saying she wasn't able to care for them. Being abandoned by your own mother has to be your worst fear ever as a child. The kids, aged 4, 2, and 1, were given milk and cookies by firefighters and paramedics and were later taken to a hospital for examination. They are all in good health and were dressed nicely. Illinois has a Safe Haven Law, which allows a child to be left at a hospital or firestation but only within 72 hours of their birth. The children that were left at the fire station were too old and their mother could be charged with child abandonment.

Chicagoist's heart is breaking. It seems that every day we've been opening the paper and seeing injury to Chicago-area children at the hands of others. In particular, 3-year-old Riley Fox who was taken in her sleep and drown; the crazy man who went on a stabbing rampage at an area shopping center and killed 1-year-old Ashley Hurt; and Keyshawn Howard - the 2-year-old who was beat to death by his mother. Our hearts go out to them. So sad.