Office of the Cook County Public Guardian

06/13/2026

Happy Pride Month!

Over the past year, we have continued to advocate on behalf of our LGBTQ+ clients in many ways including litigation and direct action on behalf of individual clients, advocating with DCFS, work on external committees, training other child welfare organizations on best practices, and providing training at national conferences.

We have also worked with legislators and advocates to support the General Assembly's passage of legislation initiated by the ACLU requiring DCFS to consider access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare before placing children out of state. The legislation, if signed into law, will require DCFS to assess whether the youth or their caregiver could face criminal charges for healthcare that is legal in Illinois and whether the youth would lose access to healthcare that is legal in Illinois.

We are committed to helping our clients feel pride in who they are and ensuring that they are respected and affirmed. You can read more about the legislation here:

Advocates argue the legislation will secure legal protections for Illinois children if they are placed in other states. Republican legislators fought the bill, arguing it infringes on other states and might deepen administrative burdens on DCFS.

06/08/2026

The Chicago Tribune is continuing its outstanding series about the hospital-to-guardianship pipeline and how the pipeline harms older people with cognitive disabilities by bypassing involved family members, discharging patients to subpar nursing homes, imposing full and permanent guardianships when a limited or temporary guardianship might be appropriate, and imposing substantial fees. The latest installment is about reform legislation that has now passed both houses and is on Governor Pritzker's desk for signature. Our office played a key role in helping to draft and champion the legislation. You can read the article here:

A bill strengthening protections for adults under guardianship gained approval from Illinois lawmakers, six months after publication of a Tribune investigation.

06/05/2026

Kina Arnold, a senior attorney in our Juvenile Division, was elected and installed this week as the Vice President of the Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. (BWLA). BWLA is representative of African-American female attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students in the Chicago metropolitan area and across the Midwest. BWLA provides mentoring and networking opportunities, performs community outreach, and grants scholarship awards to law students in and around Chicago. BWLA is committed to promoting excellence in the profession and encouraging the inclusion of African-American attorneys in law firms, the judiciary, governmental agencies, and corporations. Congratulations, Kina!

06/05/2026

Sarah Hawkins, Director of our Domestic Relations Division, and senior attorneys Colleen Littmann and Kejai McNeal presented at the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts' annual conference last week. They discussed innovative strategies for navigating high-conflict domestic relations and custody cases using a multidisciplinary approach.

06/01/2026

Wendy Cappelletto, senior attorney and director of the public benefits program in our Adult Guardianship Division, received the President’s Recognition Award from the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Wendy was recognized for her career-long, passionate, and compassionate commitment to improving the lives of seniors and people with disabilities. Congratulations to Wendy for this national recognition for her tireless work.

05/29/2026

Public Guardian Charles Golbert presented this week at the Advanced Elder Law Review, an intensive pre-session of the annual conference of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Golbert spoke about advanced health and personal care planning.

05/28/2026

Thank you to Michelle Silverthorn of Silverthorn Strategies who provided an outstanding training for our staff, pro bono, about best practices for communicating in a multigenerational office with staff members who are boomers, millennials, and Gen X, Y, and Z. A former director of diversity and education for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, Michelle is a globally recognized keynote speaker, author, and workplace culture strategist who helps organizations build environments where people feel they belong, thrive in their work, and succeed.

05/21/2026

Colleen Littmann, senior attorney in our Domestic Relations Division, presented last month as part of a panel organized by the Circuit Court of Cook County, on the importance of home visitation and home studies for attorneys who represent children. Littmann presented with Daniel Hunter, director of Family Court Services for the Circuit Court, and William Wigoda, an attorney in private practice.

05/19/2026

Today we celebrated the 25th work anniversary of Ulysses Rosales, a supervising attorney in the Juvenile Division. Ulysses is known for his zealous advocacy, and he has been particularly impactful working on behalf of our LGBTQ clients and Spanish-speaking children and families protected by the Burgos federal consent decree.

Ulysses does a wonderful job focusing on our workplace culture and morale at the OPG, and he goes out of his way to organize positive events and activities for our staff.

Congratulations and thanks to Ulysses for his years of service to the office and our child clients.

05/11/2026

May is National Childhood Drowning Prevention Month. Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children age 1 to 4 than any other cause except birth defects. Ten people die each day from unintentional drowning, and on average two of them are under 14 years old. It can happen in seconds and is often silent. Drowning can happen to anyone, any time there is access to water.

Please take a moment to review the attached tips from the Centers for Disease Control and share this information to help keep children safe.

Drowning is a major public health issue that can be prevented.