Two families who gave birth in Illinois are fighting to get their infant children back after they were taken into state custody just hours after their births. The families say their custody loss is due to some false allegations and dubious court paperwork. Lakeith and Mykel Ray say their newbo rn son was wrongfully taken from their arms by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. (Photo: Screenshot/CBS News Chicago) On Jan. 3, Lakeith and Mykel Ray had a baby boy. Only hours after his birth, the state’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) came to claim him, but the couple wouldn’t hand him over. Police officers were called in, and bodycam footage shows them physically taking the child from Mykel’s arms as she weeps in anguish from her hospital bed. Please Stop!’: Texas Cop Drags Black Mother Out of Car, Slams Her to Ground and Jails Her for Littering After She Tosses Citation Out Window “It was just … heartbreaking. I was not able to breastfeed. I wasn’t able to bond,” Mykel Ray told CBS Chicago. The reason DCFS took the Rays’ son stems from an unresolved court case six years ago, after their older children were taken from their home. An allegation had surfaced against the Rays, and they wanted a hearing to clear their names. But the couple’s public defender told them they would lose their children permanently if they didn’t agree to a “stipulation” that permits the court to deem certain facts and findings as true without requiring the state to provide any evidence. They said they never even saw any court documents spelling out the allegations against them. “We didn’t find out until years later that stipulating our rights meant pleading guilty, and we were never guilty of anything,” Mykel said. A Wisconsin couple suffered a similar misfortune to the Rays while they were traveling through Illinois. Nita P. and Earl T. told the outlet they were driving through the state last August when Nita went into labor. Only hours after she gave birth, DCFS also took her newborn baby boy due to an unfounded allegation that possible drugs might be coursing through his system. Further testing later determined the claim wasn’t true. “It felt like, you know, like we was in another country, like, like, this couldn’t possibly be America,” Earl said. State Rep. Jed Davis said he sponsored new legislation that would address these issues. House Bill 5254 requires every stipulation, allegation, and factual statement to be spelled out in a separate, numbered format that justifies the removal of a child from a parent’s custody. The stipulation must also include a plain-language section explaining the legal effect. Parents must also initial every numbered statement individually. The bill is currently being reviewed by the rules committee. The DCFS said it has not yet taken a stance on the legislation. Both couples are still fighting to get their children back. The Illinois DCFS has faced multiple lawsuits accusing the agency of taking children over baseless allegations of abuse or neglect. In 2024, a 3-month-old baby was taken away from his family after his mother took him to a physical checkup. She wanted doctors check what might have been a burn on his arm, but due to her inability to speak English, a communication breakdown prompted staff members to call DCFS, according to WLS. It was later determined that the marks on the child’s body weren’t the result of abuse. Still, it took three months for the agency to return the child to his parents. In that time, he had lived with five different foster families. In 2019, a Chicago couple also sued DCFS for taking their newborn baby girl after the couple refused to allow the hospital to administer a vitamin K shot, which helps babies clot their blood and can prevent strokes in infants. The couple rejected the injection due to their religious beliefs, but a nurse reported them to DCFS anyway and left with the newborn, the Chicago Tribune reported. They got their child back after 12 hours. The baby’s removal was reportedly prompted by a controversial DCFS policy that classifies parents’ refusal of a newborn’s vitamin K shot as medical neglect. The DCFS faced even more scrutiny after the Illinois Answers Project released a report last March stating the agency had failed to produce legally required public reports on thousands of child abuse and neglect cases, stemming from child deaths or serious injuries. ‘Just Heartbreaking’: Couple Fights to Get Newborn Baby That State Agency Took from Mother’s Arms Only Hours After Birth ...read more read less