Mother charged after 7 kids found alone in vacant Chicago apartment

CHICAGO (WGN) -- Chicago police have charged a woman after seven children were found in a vacant apartment on the West Side.

Jessie Hunt, 31, confirmed to be a single mother of all seven children, has been charged with seven counts of child endangerment.

Police said they were called to do a well-being check at a building in the 700 block of North Trumbull Avenue in the city's Humboldt Park neighborhood around 4 p.m. Friday. A person at the scene told police someone was inside a first-floor apartment that was vacant.

Inside the apartment police said officers discovered seven children; a 14-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, a 7-year-old boy, a 6-year-old girl, a 4-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy and a 23-month-old. Police said all seven children were taken to the hospital in good condition.

Prosecutors said the property owner tried to enter the apartment Friday and found the door blocked by a two-by-four.

Police said the sink was overflowing, the stove's burners were on and the children were using a tub as a toilet. Officers also reported the children hadn't eaten since the previous day.

The Department of Child and Family Services said it is investigating the incident but has not taken custody of the children. Hunt was released on a $10,000 I-bond Saturday, and is due back in court on January 8.

WMAQ-TV reports one of the children told officers their mother had left to buy a new kitchen sink.