Chicago · Licensed center
The Gardner School Of Lincoln Park
- Large center, licensed for 194 children.
- Shortlist has found no website for it yet.
What these mean, and where they come from
Large means the biggest quarter of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 119 to 487 children. Small is 8 to 48; medium is 49 to 118.
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: 9 of 12 cited something
Chicago-area centers: the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine 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 26, 2026
- On file
- 12 visits since February 2017 — 3 cited nothing
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was January 12, 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.
Dec 2025 Monitoring visit 21 findings
Monitoring visit · December 11, 2025
General Requirements for Personnel
4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) through (f) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(c)(6) · 407.100(f)
Personnel Records
3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (4) · Violation corrected · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(4)
Diapering and Toileting Procedures
3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.340(a)(2) through (5)(i) · Violation corrected on site · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.340(a)(2) · 407.340(a)(5) · 407.340(a)(5)(i)
Health Requirements for Children
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(5) through (6) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(5) · 407.310(a)(6)
Equipment and Materials
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(b) through (d) · Violation substantiated · Violation corrected on site
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(b) · 407.380(d)
Staffing Structure
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2) · Violation substantiated
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b) · Violation substantiated
Nutrition and Meal Service
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(g)(1) · Violation substantiated
Napping and Sleeping
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(c) · Violation substantiated
Medications
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(b)(1) · Violation substantiated
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation substantiated
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Jan 2024 Monitoring visit 10 findings
Monitoring visit · January 23, 2024
Personnel Records
4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (4) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)
General Requirements for Personnel
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) through (d) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(d)
Organization and Administration
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(i) · Violation substantiated
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2) · Violation substantiated
Guidance and Discipline
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Violation substantiated
Health Requirements for Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3) · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Dec 2022 Monitoring visit 7 findings
Monitoring visit · December 20, 2022
General Requirements for Personnel
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d) through (f) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d) · 407.100(f)
Organization and Administration
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e) · Violation substantiated
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4) · Violation substantiated
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a) · Violation substantiated
Equipment and Materials
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(j)(5) · Violation substantiated
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Jan 2021 Monitoring visit 2 findings
Monitoring visit · January 7, 2021
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation substantiated
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(f)(3) · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Nov 2018 Monitoring visit 3 findings
Monitoring visit · November 5, 2018
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
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Feb 2018 Monitoring visit 1 finding
Monitoring visit · February 5, 2018
Grouping and Staffing
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.190(a) · Violation corrected on site
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Dec 2017 Monitoring visit 3 findings
Monitoring visit · December 7, 2017
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · Violation corrected
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · Violation corrected
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Apr 2017 Monitoring visit 2 findings
Monitoring visit · April 6, 2017
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)
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Feb 2017 Monitoring visit 1 finding
Monitoring visit · February 27, 2017
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 545410 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
How the comparison is built
Routine visits: across Chicago-area centers, the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits (19,088 visits).
Details
- Address
- 2850 N Lincoln Ave
- License
- pending renewal application (rn)
Do you run The Gardner School Of Lincoln Park? Shortlist has no tuition, hours or ratios for it, because the state does not publish that. Adding it is free and takes about ten minutes.
Add what is missingSources 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.
All checked July 2026.
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 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "THE GARDNER SCHOOL OF LINCOLN PARK" under Provider Name and 60657 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 545410).