Illinois Department of Human Services

Peter Neumer will step down from his role overseeing investigations into the abuse and neglect of some of Illinois' most vulnerable people on August 17.

Prompted by an outcry over abuse, Illinois proposed moving residents from Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center to similar facilities in the state. New reporting shows the problems at Choate are common throughout the statewide system.

On Wednesday, the state announced plans to dramatically reduce the number of patients with developmental disabilities who live at the embattled state-run Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center.

No one was charged when staff were caught on a 911 tape threatening violence against a Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center resident who has developmental disabilities. New reporting shows a culture of cover-ups at the facility.

Federal and state officials have urged reforms at the rural facility for people with mental and developmental disabilities. But the state-run center still has more allegations of abuse and neglect than any other in Illinois.

The 24-year-old with developmental disabilities was brutally beaten by his caretakers inside an Illinois-run facility with a long history of patient abuse.

As Gov. JB Pritzker attempts to overhaul how the state reimburses nursing homes with Medicaid patients — a move they say will engender more accountability and equity — an unpublished report paints a complicated picture that neither fully bolsters Pritzker’s argument for an overhaul nor the resistance from the nursing home industry warning its cash-poor facilities will close en masse.

During a pandemic that led many to grapple with grief, distress and isolation – and civil rights uprising against police brutality and systemic racism – a lack of support for those suffering from mental health distress became increasingly evident. There is a growing movement to create a mental health crisis response that doesn’t solely rely on police.

Renee Watts describes her younger brother – Stephon – as nerdy and God-fearing. “He enjoyed talking to anyone who would listen about computer games,...

According to data collected by HFS between March and July 2020, 60% of COVID-related deaths of nursing home residents on Medicaid occurred at facilities where at least 10% of residents lived in rooms with three-plus people.