Chicago · Licensed center
Breakthrough Beginners
A center in Chicago, licensed for 71 children. The state cited something at 4 of 5 routine visits (Chicago-area centers: about 5 in 6).
Medium center. Medium means the middle half of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 49 to 118 children. Small is 8 to 48; large is 119 to 487.
Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, sick and biting policies.
What the state has found
Routine visits: 4 of 5 cited something
Across Chicago-area centers, the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits (19,088 visits).
From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked September 25, 2026.
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — Illinois DCFS
- Last visit
- August 5, 2026
- On file
- 5 visits since July 2023 — 1 cited nothing
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was September 4, 2026. Illinois DCFS does not publish whether it was made.
- Most serious
- Illinois DCFS does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.
Illinois DCFS cites each subsection of a rule separately, so one audit of a filing cabinet can produce ten citations. It publishes the rule’s title and a correction deadline, but no description of what was observed.
Aug 2026 Monitoring visit 16 findings
Monitoring visit · August 5, 2026
Personnel Records
4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (6) · Violation corrected · Rule cited again
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(a)(6)
General Requirements for Personnel
3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) through (f) · Violation corrected · Rule cited again
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(c)(6) · 407.100(f)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2) through (4)(a) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2) · 407.250(i)(4)(a)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) through (p) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) · 407.370(p)
Organization and Administration
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e) · Violation corrected
Guidance and Discipline
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Rule cited again
Health Requirements for Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3) · Violation corrected
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539770 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Aug 2025 Monitoring visit 4 findings
Monitoring visit · August 6, 2025
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f) · Violation corrected
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · Rule cited again
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a) · Violation corrected
Health Requirements for Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539770 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Jun 2024 Monitoring visit 9 findings
Monitoring visit · June 17, 2024
General Requirements for Personnel
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) through (5) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · 407.100(c)(5)
Organization and Administration
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(i) · Violation corrected
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Rule cited again
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · Rule cited again
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a) · Violation corrected
Guidance and Discipline
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Violation corrected
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539770 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Jul 2023 Monitoring visit 6 findings
Monitoring visit · July 31, 2023
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) through (e)(4) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(e)(4)
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) · Violation corrected
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539770 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Details
- Phone
- 8724448210
- Website
- breakthrough.org
- Address
- 3219 W Carroll Ave
- License
- license issued (il)
Do you run Breakthrough Beginners? Shortlist has no tuition, hours or ratios for it, because the state does not publish that. Add what is missing. It is free and takes about ten minutes.
Sources and dates
Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.
State record
Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 · sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "BREAKTHROUGH BEGINNERS" under Provider Name and 60624 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 539770).
- Website — Checked August 2026 · breakthrough.org