Quinn’s closure plan gets cool reception

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Pat Quinn’s push to overhaul care for people with mental illnesses and disabilities met Tuesday with safety concerns, money worries and maybe a bit of wounded pride while lawmakers reviewed plans to close two state institutions.

Lawmakers peppered Quinn aides with questions about whether people safely can be moved to community care such as group homes. They repeatedly pushed for details on what the switch would cost – now and over the long term – and wondered why the Democratic governor hasn’t provided more information when budget concerns are a top priority.

Several members of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability also noted Quinn is moving forward just three months after the panel recommended against closing the facilities – a mental hospital in Tinley Park and a developmental center in Jacksonville.

“It seems like we’re back shooting from the hip again,” said Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield.

The panel’s co-chairman, Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, said Quinn could wind up making “a false promise” to people who depend on the state if he doesn’t produce a plan to pay for overhauling care.

“Everything has a dollar value tied to it, and we have no idea how much that is going to cost over the next several years,” said Schoenberg, D-Evanston.

Quinn’s aides promised more detail after the governor presents his state budget proposal Feb. 22.

For now, they repeatedly reassured lawmakers it costs much less to care for mentally ill and disabled people in the community than in big institutions. And they said it can be done safely no matter how much specialized care a person needs.

“I didn’t get in this business to see people go to bad places to live,” said Kevin Casey, head of developmental disabilities for the state Department of Human Services. “I am not going to preside over a process that puts people at risk. I won’t do that.”

Quinn plans a gradual shift away from institutions. People living in state care would be given new homes – sometimes by themselves with care from experts, sometimes in small group homes, maybe even with their families.