Chicago · Licensed center

Choochoo Chicago Academy

A play-based center in Chicago, licensed for 52 children. The state cited something at 5 of 5 routine visits (Chicago-area centers: about 5 in 6).

How they teach

Play-based

“with their hands-on, play-based curriculum, every day is an adventure filled with fun and exploration!”In their words. choochoochicago.com, August 2026

One of 70 Chicago-area providers that describe a play-based approach, out of 129 that describe any approach at all.

Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: cost, ratios and staff, a typical day, sick and biting policies.

What the state has found

Routine visits: 5 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
October 20, 2025
On file
5 visits since July 2022 — all of them cited findings
Fixed?
The latest correction deadline was November 14, 2025. 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.

Oct 2025 Monitoring visit 11 findings

Monitoring visit · October 20, 2025

General Requirements for Personnel

5 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) through (f) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(c)(6) · 407.100(c)(8) · 407.100(f)

Background Checks for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · Violation corrected

Guidance and Discipline

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Violation corrected on site

Nutrition and Meal Service

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(l)(1) · Violation corrected on site

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(r) · Violation substantiated

Cited: FHSEC305

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 604049 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Dec 2024 Monitoring visit 8 findings

Monitoring visit · December 6, 2024

General Requirements for Personnel

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) through (f) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(d) · 407.100(f)

Organization and Administration

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e) · Violation corrected

Staffing Structure

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(b) · Violation corrected

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · Violation corrected

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3) · Violation corrected

Cited: CCASEC4

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 604049 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Nov 2023 Monitoring visit 4 findings

Monitoring visit · November 30, 2023

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(5) · Violation substantiated

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2) · Violation corrected

Nutrition and Meal Service

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(j)(3) · Violation substantiated

Medications

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(b)(1) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 604049 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Dec 2022 Monitoring visit 6 findings

Monitoring visit · December 15, 2022

Personnel Records

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (b) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(b)

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · Violation corrected

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(6) · Violation corrected

Equipment and Materials

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(j)(5) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 604049 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jul 2022 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · July 21, 2022

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(b) · Violation substantiated

Guidance and Discipline

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270 · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 604049 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

A day here

Hours
7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, 5 days a week

Details

Phone
3129985482
Website
choochoochicago.com
Address
2941 N Clark St
License
license issued (il)

Do you run Choochoo Chicago Academy? Shortlist has no tuition, ratios or policies 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.

How they teach

State record

Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.

A day here

Details

  • Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 · sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "CHOOCHOO CHICAGO ACADEMY" under Provider Name and 60657 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 604049).
  • Website — Checked August 2026 · choochoochicago.com