CHICAGO — The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the death of a West Side infant.
Department spokesman Dave Clarkin said the agency is investigating allegations of parental neglect in the death of 3-week-old Venecia Johnson, of the 600 block of South Keeler Avenue.
The girl was found unresponsive at home Saturday, and was declared dead at 7:42 a.m. at Mt. Sinai Hospital, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said.
Clarkin said the state has seen a 44 percent jump in suspicious deaths of children in Cook County this year. He advised parents to follow the ABCs of putting a child in bed: the child should be alone, on its back and in a crib.