Chicago · Licensed center

Breakthrough Beginners

Medium center, licensed for 71 children.
Run by a nonprofit. A board oversees it, and there are no owners taking profit.

What the state has found

The state cited rules at 4 of its 5 licensing inspections since July 2023.

Of the 130 Chicago-area centers with 5 licensing inspections, 28% had rules cited at 4 of them, as this center did. 45% had rules cited at all 5.

Licensing inspections

Aug 5, 202616 citations

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)

12 more from this inspection

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(6)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a)
Guidance and Discipline
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a)
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3)
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(p)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

Aug 6, 20254 citations

Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)

Feb 27, 2025No rules cited

Jun 17, 20249 citations

Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)

5 more from this inspection

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a)
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(i)
Guidance and Discipline
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

Jul 31, 20236 citations

Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(e)(4)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3)

2 more from this inspection

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit: August 5, 2026
On file: 5 visits since July 2023 — 1 cited nothing
Fixed?: The latest correction deadline was September 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.

Aug 2026 Monitoring visit 16 findings

Monitoring visit · August 5, 2026

Personnel Records

4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (6) · Violation corrected · Rule cited again

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(a)(6)

General Requirements for Personnel

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

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

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2) through (4)(a) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2) · 407.250(i)(4)(a)

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) through (p) · Violation substantiated

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) · 407.370(p)

Organization and Administration

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

Guidance and Discipline

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Rule cited again

Health Requirements for Children

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

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539770 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2025 Monitoring visit 4 findings

Monitoring visit · August 6, 2025

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) · Rule cited again

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a) · 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 539770 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Feb 2025 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Jun 2024 Monitoring visit 9 findings

Monitoring visit · June 17, 2024

General Requirements for Personnel

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

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

Organization and Administration

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

Background Checks for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Rule cited again

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · Rule cited again

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a) · Violation corrected

Guidance and Discipline

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

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539770 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jul 2023 Monitoring visit 6 findings

Monitoring visit · July 31, 2023

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)

Background Checks for Personnel

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

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) · Violation corrected

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · 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 539770 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Openings, child care subsidies, cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, and sick and biting policies aren’t on this page.

Details

8724448210

Website: breakthrough.org
Address: 3219 W Carroll Ave
License: license issued (il)

Run Breakthrough Beginners? Correct or add anything here, free.

Add what is missing

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 October 9, 2026.

Details

Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "BREAKTHROUGH BEGINNERS" under Provider Name and 60624 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 539770).
Website — Checked August 2026 breakthrough.org
Who runs it — Checked October 2026 projects.propublica.org

Medium means the middle half of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 49 to 118 children. Small is 8 to 48; large is 119 to 487.