* Recent background is here if you need it. From last September…
Pritzker said the state isn’t currently planning to close Choate, but he didn’t rule it out if safety issues aren’t addressed.
“The question is, can we prevent that in the future? And if not, then obviously that’s not a facility that should remain open,” the governor said in response to a reporter’s questions at an unrelated event in downstate Decatur.
Meanwhile, he said, the “state has an obligation to the people that it serves at that facility right now” and is concentrating on upgrades to the facility and ensuring that appropriate services and personnel are in place. In a statement to reporters last week, Marisa Kollias, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which runs Choate, said that the problems there are the result of “longstanding, entrenched issues” and that the department has taken “aggressive measures” to address them.
* Gov. Pritzker was asked today if he has a plan to address the many problems at Choate Developmental Center, or if he would close it down…
Well, I’ve told you before that if the problems can’t be fully addressed, then we’ll have to close it down because the state obviously in that area is incapable of managing the facility properly if we can’t take care of the problems.
Look, there’s no doubt there are continuing issues at Choate and if those continue, as I say, we can’t keep it open.
One of the big challenges with some of these facilities, I want to point out, is they’re located in areas where it’s very hard to find personnel. Think about what’s going on in Illinois and across the nation right now, which is we have many, many more job openings than we have people who are available to do those jobs. Then, think about whether you need people who are trained for a job and in a developmental disabilities facility, you sure do need training.
So these are the challenges that we’re currently going through and thinking about going forward how do you address that, especially in a rural location, where it’s already hard to find people for every other job. So, we’ll continue to work on this because it is vital that we have the proper care for our developmentally disabled.
He was asked if he had a plan. He didn’t outline one.
- DuPage Saint - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 11:37 am:
Doesn’t seem to be much urgency there. Taking aggressive action? Like what and when? This sounds trite but is true. Actions speak louder than words. I feel sorry for people dependent on state. DCFS kids DOC inmates Lots of work to be done
- Lincoln Lad - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 11:51 am:
Closing Choate also means relocating residents somewhere else - likely further away from their families. But the nonsense at Choate cannot continue.
- Dupage mom - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 11:52 am:
Reporters, ask for a specific timeline. What when where how.
This isn’t good enough, Governor.
- Stormsw7706 - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 12:00 pm:
Rock meet hard place. Tough call. The Choate staff obviously fee they are untouchable. The local entities (Sheriff and States Attorney ) have never taken action I’m aware of. The actions taken by the state thus far don’t seem to be especially aggressive either. What about the State Police, the AG office, and even federal investigation though Civil Rights Division? I would really like to see some criminal prosecutions and some pension forfeitures. This situation is really tragic.
- Appears - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 12:00 pm:
This is not good enough.
- Earnest - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 12:02 pm:
It’s not an easy issue. The people at Choate would needs supports somewhere else. There’s a terrible workforce crisis in hiring direct care staff statewide, so no capacity there. The state’s funding of the community system for adults with intellectual disabilities is so bad it is under the Ligas consent decree for not complying with the law, plus it is one of the few states that hasn’t closed its institutions like Choate.
I think the ARC’s statement on his budget is a strong take. He puts more of an increase to fund hiring more staff for the institutions than towards the community system, and falls woefully short of the Guidehouse study’s recommendations for service funding as required by the consent decree. His budget is as much plan as he has at this point.
- Grateful Gail - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 12:14 pm:
The Governor’s hiring system is a mess. It often takes months to hire people. In the past the mental health technicians were interviewed in person before they were offered a job. Now everything is done on the computer, and centers are hiring people who cannot read and write coherently. This new system is not working, and is not helping a system that definitely needs more workers. The community system has such a lack of oversight, and has its own special problems, many which are as dire as Choates. DHS needs much more oversight in the community system before families will allow their child to live in these homes. This is someone speaking from experience. IDPH doesn’t oversee community homes; DHS does, and isn’t doing a very good job. There are good providers, but just like the SODCs, there are good CILAs, and there are very bad ones, and DHS closes their eyes to the abuse/neglect in the community homes too. IT’s a MESS!
- H-W - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 12:18 pm:
What a mess. Though there is no easy solution, the idea of moving forward can guide us.
It is time to start building more group homes and more assisted living facilities for those who have the potential to live comfortably with minimal support.
It is time to modernize the “warehousing” of those incapable of caring for themselves. We need to build more facilities and smaller facilities throughout the state to accommodate the human rights of the least among us.
Whether we close Choate (and other facilities) now or later, close them we must. To do so, we must plan now, and invest now.
Doing nothing does nothing. We must act.
- Huh? - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 12:19 pm:
Shouldn’t close the site until a new place is ready to receive the residents.
- Back to the Future - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 1:07 pm:
4 years and still no plan.
Feel sorry for the poor folks at Choate.
- Game - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 1:11 pm:
Is there a plan for where this vulnerable population will be taken care of? This is not news that this facility is grossly inadequate. When will we address the crisis we are in that we have no where to place these folks.
- Dr. M - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 1:11 pm:
JB needs to demonstrate that he can put long-troubled agencies like DCFS and DHS on the right course while acting *immediately* to improve failing institutions like Choate. Closing Choate without high-quality, well-staffed alternative placements available to all residents is not an option. I have a close family member with a severe intellectual disability who is institutionalized at a best-in-class facility out of state and will soon need a state-run placement in Illinois. I worry constantly about the quality of care they will receive and whether they’ll even get a placement in Illinois when that time comes. They require a staffing ratio of 1:1 because they are so impaired (they cannot speak, dress, or feed themself), and must never be left alone). Living with family is not an option for such individuals, nor is living in a group home unless it has adequate staffing with highly specialized training. Then, lack of oversight and abuse is just as possible “in the community” as it is in a government-run institution. These institutions serve people who usually cannot be served elsewhere. If the governor cannot improve conditions at Choate, a place that is constantly under public scrutiny and state surveillance, why should we trust that a group home licensed and overseen by the state will be run any better? We need more options for severely impaired folks, not fewer, and they all need improved oversight and better staffing.
JB should offer a 20k signing bonus to skilled workers who’ll relocate to work at Choate, like my town of Champaign is paying experienced police officers who come here. Incentives work. This is a matter of priorities. Pay people as much as it takes to improve these facilities. Or, move them to a location with a larger workforce if necessary, but don’t close them down before other accommodations are available. Look at the homelessness and mental health crises we have in this country as a result of deinstitutionalization during the 80s…The feds promised community-based care would replace institutions then, too.
- illini - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 1:26 pm:
I fully realize the complexity of the problems at Choate and realize that there will never be a single perfect solution to the myriad of problems that exist.
To a point that several people here have raised - there could be options at other state run facilities. Murray Center in Centralia was almost shut down some years ago but survived. This facility has a capacity for 325 residents and currently has openings for 60 new residents. Obviously that would entail new and perhaps more specialized staff, but it is in Southern Illinois and is basically ready to be fully utilized.
- Union Thug Gramma - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 2:34 pm:
As one who has worked in decrepit sites while working for DOC, maintenance has always been an issue, for those imprisoned, not too many cares. When it comes to DD or mentally ill, there is a bit more help, but I think we, citizens, prefer to shame shame rather than pay to get it fixed. Some of the problems with corrections is also the problems with this: we built in rural areas, but many of the patients are from Northern Illinois–ya know, where the population is located…and workers. I do agree that this shouldn;t be closed until something is opened, but we also want to stop privitization of DD facilities.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 3:14 pm:
There are concerning statements coming from the elected official that bears ultimate responsibility for the conditions at Choate. He is aware of the problem and has done nothing since becoming aware.
I hope he understands that closing the facility is an acknowledgement of his failure as a Governor to address the situation. A Governor can’t just make statements like a legislator. It’s his job to fix the problem.
Let’s hope he comes up with a plan that doesn’t involve giving a canned response intended to deflect his responsibility for the conditions at the agency he runs.
- Sent from Streamwood - Thursday, Feb 16, 23 @ 3:45 pm:
CandyD, I am the guardian for a patient in the psychiatric hospital section of Choate. I personally think huge disability institutions are flawed by nature, but to say JB “has done nothing” to address problems there is uninformed and wrong. His administration has implemented improvements at the center to crack down on misconduct and provide better care. Cameras, training, increased outside investigators, more required staffing rounds and more. It’s Not just a political debate for some people. Try to step off your high horse and gather facts before you dispense another “drive by” blog comment.
- The Dude - Friday, Feb 17, 23 @ 6:54 am:
I hate to say this but it’s location alone its bound to fail.
Downstate IL is one of the worst places in country to find employees. State employment is also not what it used to be. I would argue IL state work benefits and pay compared to private sector is at it’s worst in last 100 years.
- Pacman - Friday, Feb 17, 23 @ 8:20 am:
When I worked at the OEIG, Springfield office six years ago we constantly had cases at Choate. It appears whatever the issues are they haven’t been resolved, time to close Choate.