Chicago · Licensed center

Smart Love Preschool

Medium play-based center, licensed for 55 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 7 of its 10 licensing inspections since February 2011.

Of the 859 Chicago-area centers with 10 or more licensing inspections, 78% had rules cited at some but not all of them, as this center did. 22% had rules cited at all of them.

Licensing inspections

Feb 10, 2025No rules cited

Jan 3, 2024No rules cited

Jan 12, 2021No rules cited

Dec 10, 20152 citations

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)

Dec 17, 20142 citations

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)

Jan 16, 20133 citations

Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(5)
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(6)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)

May 18, 20115 citations

Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1)

1 more from this inspection

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)

Apr 14, 20113 citations

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)

Mar 16, 20115 citations

Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(6)
Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a)
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(5)

1 more from this inspection

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2)(e)

Feb 18, 20116 citations

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(2)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(5)
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(6)

2 more from this inspection

Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(o)(2)

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit: February 10, 2025
On file: 10 visits since February 2011 — 3 cited nothing
Fixed?: The latest correction deadline was December 31, 2015. 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.

Feb 2025 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Jan 2024 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Jan 2021 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Dec 2015 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · December 10, 2015

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)(2) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 502567 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Dec 2014 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · December 17, 2014

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)(2) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 502567 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jan 2013 Monitoring visit 3 findings

Monitoring visit · January 16, 2013

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)

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 502567 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

May 2011 Monitoring visit 5 findings

Monitoring visit · May 18, 2011

Personnel Records

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (3) · Violation corrected · Violation corrected on site

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3)

Organization and Administration

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

Background Checks for Personnel

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

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 502567 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Apr 2011 Monitoring visit 3 findings

Monitoring visit · April 14, 2011

Personnel Records

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (4) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 502567 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Mar 2011 Monitoring visit 5 findings

Monitoring visit · March 16, 2011

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

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

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

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)

Background Checks for Personnel

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

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 502567 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Feb 2011 Monitoring visit 6 findings

Monitoring visit · February 18, 2011

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

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

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

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)

Organization and Administration

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

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(o)(2) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 502567 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Openings, child care subsidies, cost, and sick and biting policies aren’t on this page.

How they teach

Play-based

“Children ages 2 to 6 experience our play-based curriculum both indoors and outside.”

Who cares for your child

Kelly Perez (Vice President Education Programs, & Preschool/Playschool Director) since 2010.

Of 5,339 Chicago-area providers, 26 publish how long a named staff member has been there; the longest tenure at each of those has a median of sixteen years.

A day here

Outdoors: Organic gardens and greenhouse serve as living classrooms integrated into the curriculum
Calendar: School year
Schedule: half-day

Details

7736658052

Website: smartlovefamily.org
Address: 2222 N Kedzie Blvd
License: license issued (il)
Ages they serve: ages 2-6 years (Playschool 2-3 years; Preschool and Kindergarten 3-6 years)
Established: 2010

Run Smart Love Preschool? 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.

How they teach

Approach — Checked August 2026 smartlovefamily.org/…/e5e9a8_0d45788d333747d6b7a5615e3c3df5d7.pdf

Who cares for your child

State record

From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked October 10, 2026.

A day here

Outdoors — Checked August 2026 smartlovefamily.org
Calendar, Schedule — Checked August 2026 smartlovefamily.org

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 "SMART LOVE PRESCHOOL" under Provider Name and 60647 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 502567).
Website — Checked August 2026 smartlovefamily.org
Ages they serve — Checked August 2026 smartlovefamily.org/…/e5e9a8_c29fcc66b3ea4bf29b1c9ab5ed654e92.pdf
Established — Checked August 2026 smartlovefamily.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.