Family Receives Award for Saving Abandoned Baby's Life

As Victorino Valle of Brighton Park left his fast food restaurant, Pockets, on August 7th, he was thankful to get home to his family. Victorino arrived home around 10 o’clock after working the night shift and was about to enter the garage when he saw son Alexander, 8, start visibly to the sound of an infant crying.

Alexander and his father followed the sounds to a trash can in an alley on the side of their house. There, inside, a newborn baby wailed away.

The baby was rushed to Saint Anthony hospital after the family frantically called 911 to report the abandoned infant they found in the alley. The staff joyfully certified the baby as being in good shape upon arrival.

Victorino Valle, his wife Claudia Hernandez and their two children were presented with a “Hero’s Award” this afternoon to honor their heroic actions.

“That child will now be able to find a safe and happy home, so that’s the good part of the story,” rejoiced Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, who helped present the award to the selfless family.

“The bad part of the story is that we never want somebody to abandon their baby inappropriately and illegally and unsafely in a garbage can. What we want people in Illinois to know is that there is a safe haven law that allows babies to be relinquished safely and without fear of prosecution, if there’s no harm to that child, at hospitals, at police stations and at fire stations,” Madigan added.

Referring to the Illinois Safe Haven Law put in place in 2001, Lisa stated that parents have a 30-day window in which to give up their child to designated “secure” organizations.

Another award presenter, Dawn Geras, creator of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, reported that 53 newborns have been legally turned over to safe havens since 2001.

The sad fact of the matter is that 56 infants have also been abandoned in that same time period, with 29 not surviving, she adds.

Victorino Valle says he doesn’t think he or his family did anything out of the ordinary.

“We were in the right time for the baby,” he humbly admitted.

The infant has been placed with a foster family, according to Kendall Marlowe, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, while authorities are working on tracking down the parents.