Why is a Southern Illinois mental health center laying off hundreds of workers?

For years, the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna, about half an hour south of Carbondale, has dealt with allegations of abuse and neglect of its residents. The center opened in 1873, serving Illinoisans with mental health issues and developmental disabilities. In 2023, Governor JB Pritzker announced plans to repurpose Choate, while also giving its residents chances to move to other facilities to receive care.

Now, the state is ending the “intellectual and developmental disabilities general units” at the center by the end of September and taking out 75 civil mental health beds by next March. The union that represents most employees at Choate says the state Department of Human Services is planning to lay off 250 of the center’s more than 500 employees. 

A state government reporter who has covered this story joins the program.

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Olivia Olander 
State government reporter, Chicago Tribune