The Struggle to Find Childcare Intensifies

Usually these kind of lines are reserved for Black Friday sales. In a show of just how needed childcare in this area, folks started lining up more than three hours early Wednesday for the 4 p.m. start of the signup for 25 available weekly spots at the City of La Grange’s Summer Recreation program. Several brought lawnchairs and umbrellas for the wait. City officials feared many would have to be turned away after the 25 spots were filled. La Grange’s largest daycare, The Remnant Academy, is closing at the end of May, leaving 93 kids and their families in need of new care options. Some early arrivers in Wednesday’s line had kids at The Remnant while others didn’t but needed summer care, and they said they knew the effect of The Remnant Academy’s closure would make spots that much harder to get. The Remnant Church owns the day care facility and asked The Remnant Academy to sign a new lease agreement in August of last year, but daycare officials said it could not afford the proposed rent without raising its rates to a level beyond the means of many parents.