CHICAGO - Police raiding an apartment for drugs found 19 children living amid human waste and cockroaches, fighting a dog for food.
Five women and two men were arrested Wednesday for contributing to child neglect.
One woman also faces a felony cruelty charge.
The women are the children's mothers; one man was a father, the other an uncle.
Eighteen children, from 14 to less than 1 year old, were taken to a state shelter. A 4-year-old boy with cerebral palsy was hospitalized.
"The apartment was cold, the apartment was filthy," said officer Linda Burns. "I'm talking feces, garbage, food on the floor."
Five children were sleeping on the bare floor in their underwear. Some begged officers to be "my mommy," said officer Patricia Warner.
Officer Maggie Gutierrez said parents "began to feel remorse" at being arrested.
No drugs were found.
State child welfare officials said three of the six families had been investigated on charges ranging from neglect and abuse. One child was born with drugs in its system.
"Drugs are taking over our culture, and it's coming up as children abused and neglected," said Martha Allen of Children and Family Services.
