Chicago · Licensed center
Sunflower Early Learning Academy
At a glance
- Small center, licensed for 48 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 4 of its 5 licensing inspections since May 2022.
See each inspection
Licensing inspections
Oct 5, 20266 citations
Staffing Structure
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(3)
Background Checks for Personnel
Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b)
Health Requirements for Children
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(f)(2)
Nov 19, 20253 citations
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b)
Health Requirements for Children
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)
Oct 18, 20231 citation
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)
Oct 19, 20224 citations
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)
Qualifications for Child Care Director
Qualifications for Child Care Director
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.130(l)(2)
Nutrition and Meal Service
Nutrition and Meal Service
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(l)(1)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(f)(2)
- May 25, 2022Nothing cited
The state cited rules at 4 of this center's 5 inspections. Chicago-area centers inspected 5 times split: about a quarter had fewer, about a quarter the same, and about half more (127 centers).
How all 127 Chicago-area centers inspected 5 times compare
Of the 127 Chicago-area centers the state inspected 5 times, how many of those inspections cited a rule:
- 1 of 56%
- 2 of 56%
- 3 of 512%
- 4 of 528%This center
- All 547%
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — Illinois DCFS
- Last visit
- October 5, 2026
- On file
- 5 visits since May 2022 — 1 cited nothing
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was November 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.
Oct 2026 Monitoring visit 6 findings
Monitoring visit · October 5, 2026
Staffing Structure
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(3) · Violation substantiated
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation substantiated
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) · Violation substantiated
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b) · Violation substantiated
Health Requirements for Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a) · Violation substantiated
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(f)(2) · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 602389 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Nov 2025 Monitoring visit 3 findings
Monitoring visit · November 19, 2025
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) · Violation corrected
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b) · 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 602389 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Oct 2023 Monitoring visit 1 finding
Monitoring visit · October 18, 2023
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 602389 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Oct 2022 Monitoring visit 4 findings
Monitoring visit · October 19, 2022
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) · Violation substantiated
Qualifications for Child Care Director
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.130(l)(2) · Violation substantiated
Nutrition and Meal Service
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(l)(1) · Violation substantiated
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(f)(2) · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 602389 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Details
- Phone
- (708) 669-7236
- Address
- 5404 W Devon Ave, Chicago, 60646
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 "SUNFLOWER EARLY LEARNING ACADEMY" under Provider Name and 60646 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 602389).
- 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 "SUNFLOWER EARLY LEARNING ACADEMY" under Provider Name and 60646 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 602389).
Small means the smallest quarter of Chicago-area’s 1,948 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 8 to 48 children. Medium is 49 to 118; large is 119 to 487.
The ages on the license are what the state licenses it to care for, which can be wider than the ages it takes.