Local government opposition to Choate closure gains momentum

The Carbondale City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to oppose Illinois state government’s planned cuts to mental health care, disability services, and hundreds of good union jobs at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center.

It’s the latest of more than a dozen local government bodies in southern Illinois to pass formal resolutions calling for the reversal of threatened cuts to the essential public services Choate provides to the region.

The resolutions “urge the Illinois Department of Human Services to reverse its decision to drastically downsize Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center” and call on “the State of Illinois to reverse the trend of divestment in mental health services available to Southern Illinois residents.”

The most recent opposition comes from Johnson and Williamson counties, the cities of Harrisburg, Jonesboro, Marion and Murphysboro, and the village of Thebes.

Jackson County is expected to follow suit next week. Its resolution won preliminary approval from a unanimous county board committee.

The Union County board, Anna and Vienna city councils, and Cobden and Dongola village boards approved similar resolutions last month.

The Illinois Sheriffs Association, the Illinois AFL-CIO Southern Illinois Central Labor Council, and hospital leaders in the region have all spoken out against the state’s drastic plan.

“Community leaders at every level and from both parties agree—Choate’s mental health and disability care and its hundreds of good union jobs are irreplaceable in southern Illinois,” AFSCME Council 31 regional director Eddie Caumiant said. “Our growing coalition is united in calling on the state of Illinois to reverse these threatened cuts.”