Aurora · Licensed center
Smart Beginnings Academy Inc.
At a glance
- Large center, licensed for 136 children.
What to know
The license is the range the state allows. It does not say which ages have openings.
What the state has found
The state cited rules at 5 of its 8 licensing inspections since April 2022.
See each inspection
Licensing inspections
Mar 12, 20262 citations
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
- Jan 14, 2026Nothing cited
- Jul 14, 2025Nothing cited
- Mar 4, 2025Nothing cited
Mar 21, 20242 citations
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Feb 28, 20235 citations
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(e)
Medications
Medications
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(c)
Medications
Medications
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(e)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(1)
Jun 29, 20229 citations
Staffing Structure
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Organization and Administration
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(k)
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)
Provisions Pertaining to the License
Provisions Pertaining to the License
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.60(g)
Grouping and Staffing
Grouping and Staffing
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.190(d)(4)
Medications
Medications
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(d)(1)
Nutrition and Meal Service
Nutrition and Meal Service
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(j)(5)
Apr 26, 20225 citations
Staffing Structure
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(5)
Health Requirements for Children
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(6)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
The state cited rules at 5 of this center's 8 inspections. Most Chicago-area centers inspected 8 times had more: 72% of 128 had rules cited at 6 or more.
How all 128 Chicago-area centers inspected 8 times compare
Of the 128 Chicago-area centers the state inspected 8 times, how many of those inspections cited a rule:
- 3 of 83%
- 4 of 86%
- 5 of 819%This center
- 6 of 816%
- 7 of 818%
- All 838%
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — Illinois DCFS
- Last visit
- March 12, 2026
- On file
- 8 visits since April 2022 — 3 cited nothing
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was April 11, 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.
Mar 2026 Monitoring visit 2 findings
Monitoring visit · March 12, 2026
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) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 607229 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Mar 2024 Monitoring visit 2 findings
Monitoring visit · March 21, 2024
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (3) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3)
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 607229 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Feb 2023 Monitoring visit 5 findings
Monitoring visit · February 28, 2023
Medications
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(c) through (e) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(c) · 407.360(e)
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d) · Violation substantiated
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(e) · Violation substantiated
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(1) · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 607229 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Jun 2022 Monitoring visit 9 findings
Monitoring visit · June 29, 2022
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (3) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3)
Provisions Pertaining to the License
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.60(g) · Violation corrected
Organization and Administration
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(k) · Violation corrected
Staffing Structure
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2) · Violation corrected
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · Violation corrected
Grouping and Staffing
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.190(d)(4) · Violation corrected
Nutrition and Meal Service
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(j)(5) · Violation corrected
Medications
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(d)(1) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 607229 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Apr 2022 Monitoring visit 5 findings
Monitoring visit · April 26, 2022
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (5) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(5)
Staffing Structure
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2) · Violation corrected
Health Requirements for Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(6) · Violation corrected
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 607229 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Details
- Phone
- (630) 229-6195
- Address
- 1555 Mesa Ln, Aurora, 60502
We couldn’t find some information that may matter to your decision: openings, child care subsidies, cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, sick and biting policies, and who owns it. We can ask the program for you and copy you in.
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
From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked November 8, 2026.
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked August 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "SMART BEGINNINGS ACADEMY INC." under Provider Name and 60502 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 607229).
- Ages on the license — Checked November 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "SMART BEGINNINGS ACADEMY INC." under Provider Name and 60502 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 607229).
Large means the biggest quarter of Chicago-area’s 1,948 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 119 to 487 children. Small is 8 to 48; medium is 49 to 118.
The ages on the license are what the state licenses it to care for, which can be wider than the ages it takes.