People with developmental disabilities living in Illinois’ publicly run institutions have been punched, slapped, hosed down, thrown about and dragged across rooms; in other cases, staff failures contributed to patient harm and death.
The Illinois State Police division that looks into alleged criminal wrongdoing by state employees investigates more allegations against workers at these seven residential centers than it does at any other department’s workplaces, including state prisons, which house far more people, according to an analysis of state police data.
“Too many residents suffer physical injury, sexual assault and death to regard placement in such facilities as safe,” wrote Ronnie Cohn, the monitor and a New-York based expert on disability services, in a report that was prepared at the behest of a federal judge in ongoing proceedings. Additionally, IDHS acknowledged shortcomings in the community care settings that operate under the agency’s oversight. Kollias said that the community system had been financially neglected by the prior administration and noted that Pritzker’s administration has successfully advocated for millions of dollars in new spending for these programs. Funding for home- and community-based care has roughly doubled what it was when Pritzker took office to more than $1.
For instance, among the more recent physical abuse cases where a conviction was secured is one from Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee, a small industrial city on the outskirts of suburban Chicago. In 2020, a patient was found with U-shaped markings and dark bruising on his chest, back, arms, legs and genitals.
The worker pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor battery and received 12 months of court supervision. She was fired from Shapiro, but neither state police nor IDHS’ inspector general were able to determine the cause of the patient’s more extensive injuries. These records show that in addition to the abuse cases, residents have suffered from life-threatening mistakes and oversights by employees.
As of February, about 200 employees at developmental centers statewide — about 5% of the workforce — were unable to perform the job they were hired for pending the outcomes of abuse and neglect allegations with the state police or inspector general’s office. Most of them were on paid leave, including some who had been on paid leave in excess of two years.
The inspector general’s investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the employees who were involved remain on leave. IDHS said in a statement that in response to the health department’s findings, Kiley staff received training on “providing sufficient direct care staff.” “It has become normal for staff to never seem to know anything about these injuries,” wrote Comerford, the facility’s business administrator. He concluded his letter by saying that he believed speaking out put his livelihood at risk. “But the risks of not speaking out are far too great for me to remain silent.”
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