* Capitol News Illinois and Lee Enterprises…

Rita Burke, whose 53-year-old son has lived at Choate for more than 30 years, said Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace Hou and two other senior state officials called her on Saturday evening to inform her of their plans.

Burke said she was shocked because Ryan Croke, a senior official in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office who was on the call, had previously given her assurances that Choate would not close, and never suggested that large numbers of residents would be forced to leave, she said.

“We are devastated and so disappointed. It seems to us that DHS and the governor’s office are pushing our loved ones out of their homes of many, many years,” said Burke, who is also president of the Friends of Choate parents association. (Asked about Croke’s prior characterization of the administration’s plans, a spokesperson for the governor’s office reiterated that Choate is “not closing” and said it expects to continue a “productive relationship” with families and guardians during the transition.) […]

For people like her son, changes in routine can be extremely disruptive and affect their ability to function, she said. “They can’t be moved like puzzle pieces,” she said. “They’re human beings. I think we need to put the ‘human’ back into the Department of Human Services.”

Burke, a former chair of an IDHS board that reviews internal abuse and neglect investigative reports, said she visits the facility often and maintains that it is safe.

But…

Lutrice Williams, who lived at Choate for about four years until her discharge in 2020, said she was abused during her time there and didn’t get the level of care she needed. In February, an employee pleaded guilty to whipping her repeatedly with a belt in 2020.

There’s more, including the local county board chair blaming, without evidence, outsiders for the problems. Go read the whole thing.

* As I told subscribers earlier, Equip for Equality supports the governor’s move…

Equip for Equality’s Independent Monitoring Unit first documented the troubled-facility’s failures in a 2005 report that called for Choate’s closure. Nearly two decades later, enhanced monitoring activities show little has changed.

* Individuals continue to be segregated from their communities without receiving the necessary services to actually address why they ended up there, leading to needless and harmful lengthy stays.
* Individuals continue to report feeling unsafe where they live, stating that they are afraid of staff and peers, and afraid of retaliation if they report staff abuse.
* Neglect impacts every aspect of individual safety and well-being, from too frequent incidents of peer-to-peer abuse and self-harm to unaddressed health needs.

Choate has simply failed to meet its obligations to the people living there and, as recent Office of Inspector General Reports made clear, these problems are entrenched. “Many of the recent news stories are about incidents that happened a year or more ago. Based on our recent monitoring, we can say without a doubt that these continue to be ongoing issues,” said Stacey Aschemann, Equip for Equality’s Vice President for the Independent Monitoring Unit responsible for monitoring conditions at Choate.

* Isabel’s coverage roundup…

* SJ-R: Gov. JB Pritzker unveiled a behavioral health workforce initiative in Springfield Wednesday intended to improve mental health and developmental disability treatment across Illinois. […] The Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center partners the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine with several other groups … to train mental health professionals and provide better access to services statewide.

* Illinois Senate Democrats: “As the Chair of the Behavioral and Mental Health Committee in the Senate, I understand the incredible input behavioral health specialists have on improving the mental health and well-being of so many Illinoisans,” said State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview). “The BHWEC will be a tremendous support to individuals working towards a career in behavioral and mental health. This will, in turn, address the needs of residents in our state. I look forward to working with the BHWEC and other state organizations to support behavioral health care providers and increase our mental health workforce.”

* Capitol News Illinois: In an exclusive interview before an expected Wednesday announcement, IDHS Secretary Grace Hou outlined a “repurposing and restructuring” of Choate, located in rural Anna, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis. That process will start with the relocation of 123 residents with developmental disabilities who entered the facility voluntarily — roughly half the current population. In a separate interview with reporters, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that IDHS has been working on improvements at Choate since he first took office in January 2019. But he said “it became clear, I would say certainly over the last year — and, in part, because of your reporting — that there were more significant changes that needed to be made.”

* KFVS: Gov. Pritzker’s office stated IDHS is taking additional, immediate action to protect resident safety. A Family Liaison Team will be formed to help to support families, guardians and residents with questions and concerns about the change.

* NBC Chicago: The remaining 112, some of whom were ordered by criminal courts to Choate because of their disabilities, will remain while authorities determine the best placement for them and while they redesign Choate’s campus and program for safer and better care. […] Pritzker said he blames the troubles on his predecessors who left centers such as Choate “underfunded and neglected.” He contended his administration knew of the problems when it took over in 2019 and has been making changes while trying to eliminate state debt to ensure there is money to follow through.

* Capitol News Illinois: Terri Bryant, a Republican from Murphysboro whose district neighbors Choate, said she believed the Pritzker administration’s plan is shortsighted and lacking in concrete details. In a call with reporters on Wednesday, she accused the governor of taking the “lazy-man’s route” to fixing safety and workforce issues raised in news reports.

* WPSD: “The real thing that’s getting lost in all of the mix in the press releases that I’ve seen from some legislators and the governor’s office is 123 people who call Choate home, and most of them were not able to settle in any other environment,” said Bryant.

* Tribune: “It’s not like we’ve sat around,” Pritzker said. “All along we have been trying to make the changes that are necessary, and obviously some of them have been ineffective. “And so we’re making transformational change now and this is a big change from the past and it’s taken us four years to build up the funding.”