Baby Found Abandoned on Trash Can in Northwest Side Alley

A newborn baby was found abandoned on top of a trash can Tuesday in Hermosa on the Northwest Side.

A passerby noticed the baby boy in an alley at 1714 N. Keystone Avenue and took the him to a firehouse, Chicago police said. Paramedics took the baby in critical condition to Norwegian American Hospital at 4:11 p.m.

The baby’s condition was stabilized hours later before he was transported to Lurie Children’s Hospital downtown, a fire department spokesman said.

“The little guy is crying and kicking…,” the spokesman said. The baby was pink and alert, and using a breathing tube.

Police said they have not determined who left the baby on top of the garbage can.

This was the first baby in Illinois this year to be illegally abandoned, according to Dawn Geras, who lobbied to pass Illinois’ “Safe Haven law.”

Under the law, infants 30 days or younger may be dropped off — no questions asked — with a staff member at a hospital, fire or police station, according to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

“This was the first one of this year, and the 83rd illegally [abandoned] since the law was passed in 2001,” Geras said. “Most of which don’t survive. I pray this little boy survives.”

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