Indiana
Illinois, Indiana programs spread awareness on baby surrender options
Illinois, Indiana programs spread awareness on baby surrender options
In Tuesdays special report, Tia Ewing examines several success stories and delves into the differences in regulations between Illinois and Indiana for parents facing crisis situations.
CARMEL, Ind. – It’s an unimaginable decision: giving up a newborn baby.
However, several local programs are looking to spread awareness and give parents choices.
In a FOX 32 Special Report, Tia Ewing examines several success stories and delves into the differences in regulations between Illinois and Indiana for parents facing crisis situations.
“I’m very, very passionate about it because I think there’s nothing more important in the world than human life, and especially babies,” said Chief John Moriarty of the Carmel, Indiana Fire Department.
Moriarty has been with the department for 42 years and the Safe Haven Baby Box at Station 345 is perhaps the part of his professional career that he is most passionate about.
“This is just what I do and what all the firefighters do throughout the country,” said Moriarty. “We save human life, and we’re going to do whatever we can to do that.”
The box was installed in 2018 after Moriarty and another Carmel fire chief, David Haboush, were approached about the program.
Not only is Carmel’s box one of the first to be set up, but it also holds another record.
“They hold the record nationwide for the most babies surrendered in one Safe Haven Baby Box,” said Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
Kelsey believes the Carmel fire team’s dedication to the children in their care is part of why they’ve become the busiest.
“We’ve had four infants,” said Haboush. “Even though the box has been here for almost five years, we really had all of our infants surrendered here in the span of about 18 months.”
Under the Safe Haven Baby Box law in Indiana, a person looking to surrender a child doesn’t have to have face-to-face contact to hand the child off. Instead, they are given the option to place the child in a temperature-controlled box.
“If they want to, they can do it in total anonymity. They can come to the outside of the box. There’s no cameras outside of our fire station,” said Haboush.
Kelsey says anonymity is key to making sure mothers feel comfortable with the drop-off.
“These women don’t have to face anyone, they don’t have to talk to anyone. They don’t have to feel shamed or judged,” said Kelsey. “They can just place their child in these boxes and these babies are picked up within a couple of minutes. And so everybody wins.”
Kelsey started the Baby Box program out of inspiration from her beginnings. Her mother left her at a hospital just two hours after she was born.
“Doing the research for when I started Safe Haven Baby Boxes, I started going back, and I started looking at all these babies that were just dumped in our country,” said Kelsey.
About every three days in America, a baby is found deceased in our country or found clinging to life.
“Here in Indiana, since she started the Baby Box Program, no baby has been found deceased, and so we know that it’s being effective, and it’s working,” said Moriarty.
Kelsey credits Moriarty as a pivotal supporter of the program. Not only did he facilitate the introduction of the box to Carmel, but he also contributed to enhancing the comprehensiveness of the information booklet associated with the program.
“I had our paramedics and EMTs help me write the program,” said Moriarty. “I put together any information I could get on it, besides policies and procedures, and then put it together, and it became a very thick binder.”
Moriarty and his wife played a key role in setting up a changing table stocked with baby supplies next to the box to make sure the children placed in the fire department’s care had everything from new outfits to a car seat.
“So our idea, my wife and mine, was to make sure that that family had everything they needed to start with,” said Moriarty.
Additionally, he creates a baby book for every child in their care, ensuring that their adoptive families have cherished memories of the child’s earliest days. Moreover, the Carmel firefighters have initiated a tradition of commemorating each baby’s arrival with a special birthday cake.
“They said, as I walked back, ‘Hey, chief, do you want a piece of the baby’s birthday cake?’” said Moriarty. “And, I’m like, ‘What?’ And they go, ‘We made the baby a birthday cake,’ and that about broke my heart.”
The Safe Haven Baby Box program currently has operational boxes in 15 states. Several other states, like Wisconsin, have passed a law to approve the program but don’t have boxes yet.
“I hope to see a baby box in every state, city and town,” said Moriarty. “I hope all 50 states allow these baby boxes to be placed. They’re saving human lives. What’s more important than that in this country?”
This program helped save the life of a Chicago area baby when it was dropped off at the Schererville Fire Department in November.
However, despite its success, this program is not in Illinois.
“Chicago is one of these cities where they keep saying they don’t have a problem. And we keep showing them they do. And they just keep ignoring it,” said Kelsey.
Kelsey says there have been a lot of abandonments in Chicago, including one case where a baby boy was found deceased outside a Chicago fire station in 2022.
So, why doesn’t Illinois offer this program?
“We’ve got tons of pushback from Illinois. Tons of pushback,” said Kelsey.
Fox 32 Chicago spoke with two state legislators who were interested in bringing this program to Illinois.
In 2021, one of them wrote a bill to try to make that happen but it stalled in the state legislature’s rules committee and was removed from their agenda two months ago.
Illinois does have a program where new parents can give up their babies, and it does not involve a box.
“It allows a parent that feels that they cannot keep a newborn baby for whatever reason to be able to walk into a Safe Haven site, which in Illinois is all hospitals, police and fire stations,” said Dawn Geras, Chairman of the Board of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation.
Geras says the benefit of Illinois’ law requiring face-to-face contact is it gives the chance for supportive services to be offered.
“We can provide the support for them to make a plan to parent the baby or a traditional adoption,” said Geras. “If you give a box to a woman instead, you eliminate that possibility.”
Since 2001, the foundation says 159 infants have been dropped off at Illinois Safe Haven sites and that another 92 were illegally abandoned.
While Geras adds that a parent doesn’t need to speak with someone when handing over a baby, she feels her program is safer because it allows new moms to receive help with any potential medical complications.
“We’re already promising them anonymity, the law has been in effect now for 21 years and it works,” said Geras.
Both initiatives emphasize that their primary goal is to save lives and promote awareness.
If you’d like to learn more about either program, you can click on the links below:
Save Abandoned Babies Foundation
Safe Haven Baby Boxes
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever continued their 2026 WNBA regular season with a 100-84 loss against the Portland Fire on Saturday, May 30.
Clark, a former Iowa women’s basketball star, and the Fever are 4-4 after the first eight games of the regular season.
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Here’s a look at how Clark fared in Saturday’s game in Portland:
Caitlin Clark stats today in Indiana Fever vs Portland Fire
Former Iowa Hawkeyes star Megan Gustafson scored a game-high 22 points for Portland in the Saturday victory.
Former Iowa State Cyclones star Bridget Carleton scored 14 points for the Fire.
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever upcoming games
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Caitlin Clark’s stats in Indiana Fever vs Portland Fire today
MOORESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — A Mooresville police officer was involved in a “serious crash,” Saturday afternoon, officials say.
According to a Facebook post made by the Mooresville Fire Department, officers are advising the public to avoid the area of the 200 block of East Main Street due to a “serious crash” involving a Mooresville Metropolitan Police officer.
East Main Street is currently closed between Maple Lane and Franklin Street.
Police say the roads will remain closed while a crash investigation is being conducted.
Police did not provide details on the officer’s condition.
This is a developing story.
The resort area of southwest Michigan along Lake Michigan is wildly popular with Chicagoans in summer and fall for good reason. The coastal stretch offers sophisticated dining and shops, breweries, wineries, beaches, sunsets on Lake Michigan and a vacation vibe wherever you go.
If you haven’t been in a couple of years, you’ll find Indiana’s coast, home of the Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park, is worth more than a hiking or gas-station stop.
Though the towns along the lake are small and don’t have centers of commerce, many exciting new places have sprung up on U.S. Route 12, the scenic drive that skirts the lake’s edge.
Beverly Shores and Michigan City, Ind.
Miles from Chicago: 54
Sadly, the orange Studebaker that for years served up excellent wood-fired pizza is no longer parked in Beverly Shores, a small lake community famous for its collection of historic homes from the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair. The only way to get a South Shore Ovenworks pie now is to reserve the food truck for a private event.
Console yourself with shopping. The founder and former owner of Cowboys and Astronauts, a men’s store in Andersonville, has opened Blanket Fort (1 E. Dunes Highway), a design studio and shop in Beverly Shores. Matthew Buccilla describes his style as “vintage modern meets-cozy cabin-meets Japanese wabi-sabi.” His bona fides include designing spaces around the world for furniture maker Herman Miller. Blanket Fort, located in a cool midcentury building, is open the first and third weekends of the month.
The Heron, a French restaurant in Michigan City, Ind.
Neighboring Michigan City has seen an explosion of new restaurants, including The Heron (522 Franklin St.) which thankfully has strayed from the usual New American/Italian playbook and instead focuses on French food. A great happy hour from 4-6 p.m. (even Fridays!) features $10 martinis and deeply discounted wine and beer.
Up the street is Rocco’s Tavern (827 Franklin St.) from the family who owns Cafe Farina next door and Farina’s Supper Club in Michiana. Rocco’s makes you feel like you’re in a Rush Street steakhouse.
Interior of Rocco’s Tavern in Michigan City, Ind.
A reservation-only 12-seat Lebanese restaurant, C.12, (132 E. 6th St.) just opened in the lower level of a 100-year-old Masonic Temple. It’s owned by longtime area restaurateur Momahed “Moe” Mroueh. Diners sit around a horseshoe-shaped counter with an open kitchen. There’s one seating a night, offering a prix-fixe tasting menu ($65).
Also below ground is The Nightingale (1108 Franklin St.), a moody spot with small lamp-lit tables, great old-school cocktails, and live music, mostly jazz and blues. It’s open only occasionally so check before you go.
Cellar Door (1901 Franklin St.) opened last year in an historic building that once housed Harmony Bar. Cellar Door is everything you want in a classic neighborhood tavern — friendly service, carved wooden bar, games (10-pin bowling! Vintage pinball!), patio — and then add good wine and creative food. The head bartender and chef came from the well-regarded Hummingbird Lounge in New Buffalo.
A few new shopping options have popped up in Michigan City, too: The Wren (410 Wabash St.), a gift shop with a focus on sustainable, natural products, is across from Lighthouse Place Outlet Mall. Abigail Hayden Interiors & Design (607 Franklin St.) is a charming shop in the Arts District, filled with home accessories and art, as well as the owner’s own line of upholstered furniture.
The Standard 1208 in Michigan City, Ind.
The Standard 1208 (1208 E. Second St. at U.S. 12), formerly called Unsalted No Sharks and located in downtown Michigan City, has opened in an old Standard Oil station across from Burn ’Em Brewing (1215 E. Second St.). In addition to cool gifts and souvenirs, The Standard serves Italian sub sandwiches, great for taking to the beach. A second location just opened in New Buffalo (19 N. Whittaker St.).
Michiana, Ind.
Miles from Chicago: 67
The bar at Tavern on Twelve in Michiana, Ind.
Heading north on Route 12, Swells: A Dive Bar (3201 U.S. 12), cooks up four kinds of pizza: tavern style, Detroit style, deep dish and hand-tossed (New York style) and manages to do it all extremely well. There are soups, salads and sandwiches, too. It’s the sort of place where groups come to watch their team on TV. A dive bar with Veuve Clicquot on the menu? Sign me up.
Just up the road is Tonelli’s Tavern on Twelve (3103 U.S. 12), from the owner of Michigan City’s popular Tonelli’s, which closed a few years ago. This property has hosted a few restaurants in recent years (Blind Pig, Trip’s Tree House), but Tonelli’s seems to have found a groove in its 12 months in business, serving up classic Italian red-sauce fare at decent prices.
New Buffalo and Union Pier, Mich.
Miles from Chicago: 70
Farmette, a provisions store on the outskirts of New Buffalo
Across the border in Michigan, you might think not much changes in the little towns along Red Arrow Highway save for the time change. But many new restaurants and shops have opened, and a couple of longtime favorites have shuttered.
Just past all the new cannabis dispensaries on Route 12 (some 18 or so with more on the way), Farmette (18439 U.S. 12) on the outskirts of New Buffalo has become an instant favorite, with an in-house bakery specializing in sourdough, a coffee and drinks bar, and specialty food shop with a well-stocked freezer and refrigerator case, as well as produce and flowers in season (much of it grown on site). The owner tended Rick Bayless’ garden in Chicago once upon a time.
New Buffalo is home to arguably the hottest restaurant along this coast: PostBoy (207 N. Whittaker St.), which opened in fall of 2024. Heading the kitchen is James Galbraith, who founded Benton Harbor’s foodie favorites Houndstooth and Anemel. Galbraith previously worked under Chicago chefs at Intro, Blackbird, Elske, S.K.Y., Bellemore, and Boka. There’s a hopping patio and indoor/outdoor bar; be sure to reserve ahead. This place gets jammed.
If you’re looking for food to take to your Airbnb or vacation home, Angela’s Provisions (225 N. Whittaker St.) has homemade soups, pastas, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and salads, made to order or stocked in the fridge/freezer case.
Bookshore in New Buffalo, Mich.
The perfect hostess gift for discerning hosts is at Bookshore, which features big, gorgeous art books meant for a coffee table — or any surface. It’s owned by the same family that runs the popular tourist draw Stray Dog restaurant.
Harbor Country’s biggest news lately was the closing of Greenbush Brewing Company in Sawyer, a popular spot for 12 years. But beer lovers have other options.
The newest of the lot, which opened last fall, is Mangata Beer Co. (15936 Red Arrow Highway) in Union Pier, a sister operation of the award-winning Transient Artisan Ales (4229 Lake St.) in Bridgman. This tasting room focuses on easy-drinking, lower-alcohol beers such as pilsners, lagers, saisons and Belgian ales, all created at Transient’s brewhouse.
Sawyer and Three Oaks, Mich.
Miles from Chicago: 80
Longstory, a restaurant in Three Oaks, Mich.
Fulcra Brewing Company (13400 Red Arrow Highway) opened last July in a two-room bungalow in Sawyer, the dream of two home brewers (one a Dark Matter Coffee alum.) Fulcra focuses on balanced, drinkable brews. A beer garden has just opened; look for live music, food trucks or restaurant pop-ups, the owners say.
Three Oaks saw the closing of its popular pizza take-out, Patellie’s, last winter. But while pizza lovers mourned the loss, the owners used the space to expand their wine and beer store. P.+E. Bottle Shop (28 N. Elm St.) now carries cheese, bread, crackers, olives and prepared food — all the stuff that goes great with wine. And speaking of wine, there’s now a much-expanded selection of wine and craft beer.
For breakfast or lunch, two Chicago transplants have reopened the popular Viola Cafe (102 N. Elm St.), which was closed for a few years. Along with their chef, former Chopping Block owner Shelley Young, they’ve put a Southern twist on it. Think po’ boys, beignets, meat loaf, greens, fried green tomatoes and mac ’n’ cheese alongside breakfast classics.
Three Oaks had not had a stylish dinner spot for dinner until recently, with the opening of Longstory (8 Maple St.) in December 2024. The restaurant has had some bumps, with chef changes and the like, but is popular with locals, who gather for happy hours and order from the New-American-with-an-accent menu of chicken shawarma, Tuscan kale salad, polenta torte, grilled fish, New York strip, roasted beets and more.
Inside the popular boutique Goods & Heroes (7 Maple St.), a former clearance room has become a store within a store, GH Yarn Haus, which specializes in natural fibers and holds knitting get-togethers and classes.
Dreihart Winery, a wine tasting room, in Three Oaks, Mich.
A small wine tasting room (capacity: 25) opened in spring 2025 just off Three Oaks’ main drag. Dreihart Winery (6 Linden St. E.) is an offshoot of 6 Linden, which sells local meat, produce, eggs and cheeses, along with imported pastas and such. Winemaker Gottfried Hart, a charming man with a few stories to tell, is usually pouring. A former co-owner of Hickory Creek Winery in Buchanan, he’s one of several area winemakers who understands that Michigan can produce dry, complex wines similar to those from Austria and his native Germany. Grab some smoked trout rillette to pair with your wine.
Jan Parr, a former Chicago journalist, lives in the middle of the Indiana Dunes, in Beverly Shores. She writes about local happenings at DunesDiva.com.
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