Kankakee Times

Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) is drawing attention to the planned closure of Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center, which will force the relocation of more than 120 residents from the facility.

In a Facebook post on March 17, Haas posted a link to a Capitol News Illinois article about officials' and families' reactions to the closure.

Choate is one of 13 psychiatric hospitals and developmental centers operated by Illinois Department of Human Services. The 270-bed facility serves people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities, including people diagnosed with “profound” disabilities, some of whom are nonverbal.

WSIL reported that the Choate facility will be repurposed, and residents will have an opportunity to move into community-based settings or other state centers where they will receive care. 

Advocates are still concerned about this change, however. 

"We’re extremely concerned about the fate of Choate Developmental Center residents and the employees who make Choate home for them," AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch told WSIL. "We intend to make certain that the well-being of the more than 200 residents of the Choate home is given the foremost consideration, now and in the future. AFSCME will work to protect the jobs of Choate's dedicated and compassionate employees, and our union will continue our close alliance with the Friends of Choate family group to ensure that no resident is forced out of their home without their consent."

Capitol News Illinois reported on the state's decision to close Choate on March 7. The state's decision to repurpose Choate and move the residents to other facilities came after months of reports of abuse and coverups of abuse and neglect, and employee intimidation.

According to ProPublica, Republican legislators in the Illinois General Assembly held a press conference to demand an investigation into reports of abuse at state-run mental health facilities.

A 1999 decision by the Supreme Court in the Olmstead case spurred the closure of institutions like Choate, the report stated. Illinois has been slow to transition compared to other states, although it has closed some of the larger institutions in recent decades, the report stated. 

Illinois “houses more people with developmental disabilities in large institutions and spends more to operate those institutions relative to statewide personal income than almost every other state in the nation, according to a review of data compiled by researchers with the University of Kansas,” Capitol News reported.