Emily Kasanga’s family always gathered for celebrations, younger sister Ashley Kasanga said.
Though Emily Kasanga lived in a group home due to a moderate intellectual disability and other disorders, her sister and other loved ones said the tight-knit group included her in parties, dinners and family trips.
And as Emily Kasanga turned 34 in April, “My spirits were just saying, ‘I need to throw Emily a big party today,’” 30-year-old Ashley Kasanga said. “I went all out.”
Just over a week later, Emily Kasanga died of choking while in the care of her state-licensed Rolling Meadows group home, according to a complaint filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court.
She still had her pink birthday sash with her when her body arrived at the Cook County medical examiner’s office, according to an autopsy report provided by family attorneys.
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Now, the family is suing over her death, alleging that the home, owned by Arlington Heights-based nonprofit Clearbrook, and a worker there failed to protect her despite known risks.
“My family will never be the same. There’s nothing … that can bring her back, but we do want justice for my sister,” Ashley Kasanga, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said at a news conference Tuesday.
Family members are also calling on the state of Illinois to better protect residents of community-integrated living arrangements, or CILAs, the small group homes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, though the state is not named as a defendant in the suit.
“Our sister had trouble communicating and needed protection as do so many of the CILA residents who are very at risk due to their disabilities,” Ashley Kasanga said in a statement, adding later she believed it was “a very preventable situation.”
Clearbrook operated more than 100 CILA sites as of 2024, according to an Illinois auditor general’s report, making it one of the largest providers in the state. It was in partial compliance with CILA standards as of August 2025, according to the regulators at the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Emily Kasanga, who had autism, a moderate intellectual disability, intermittent explosive disorder and seizure disorder, “suffered a fatal choking event” on April 25 while living at the northwest suburban Clearbrook home, according to the lawsuit.
Staff at her home knew or should have known she was at risk for choking and that she required 24-hour care and support, according to the lawsuit.
She had previously shown tendencies that put her at risk for choking, like eating too quickly, and she had lived in the Clearbrook group home for more than a decade, Margaret Battersby Black, an attorney for the family, said Tuesday.
On the day she died, the home failed to appropriately prepare and cut up her food or supervise her, the suit alleges.
In addition to Clearbrook, the lawsuit also names a staff member, direct support professional Joyce Ezunu, as a defendant. Ezunu was responsible for caring for Kasanga, but on the day Kasanga died allowed her to eat without the required supervision “while attending to matters elsewhere in the home,” the complaint alleges.
Ezunu found Kasanga choking and “failed to timely and appropriately intervene,” according to the lawsuit.
Instead, Ezunu “enlisted one or more residents to assist in attempting the Heimlich maneuver while emergency services were contacted,” the suit alleges.
A police officer and paramedics later arrived and tried to save Kasanga, but she was pronounced dead at the scene that afternoon, according to the lawsuit.
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Kasanga’s brother, David Simwinga, said Tuesday that he learned she had died when he arrived to pick her up to go to brunch and spend the day with their mother and other family members. Instead, he found emergency responders at the house.
Simwinga, who is studying to be a pilot, said it’s hard to know that he’ll never have his sister on a flight.
Clearbrook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the union representing workers at Clearbrook declined to comment, saying it does not represent members in individual litigation. A voicemail message left at a phone number listed for Ezunu in an online directory was not returned.
Kasanga taught her family “how to not look at the bad of a situation, not to let it carry us into the next day,” Ashley Kasanga said. When they frowned or cried, Emily Kasanga told them to smile, her sister said.
An avid fan of “Teen Beach Movie” and other movies and TV shows, Emily Kasanga’s favorite trip with her family was to Walt Disney World a few years ago, family members said.
“Her favorite cartoon character from Disney was Minnie Mouse. She would always talk about Minnie Mouse,” Ashley Kasanga said. “So when she was down there, she was, like, in heaven.”