Illinois Prison System to Improve Mental-Health Conditions

PEORIA, Ill. — The Illinois prison system will add four mental-health treatment units and 350 clinical-staff employees as part of its plan to improve conditions for mentally ill inmates in response to inmate complaints in a federal lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in Peoria.

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) filed a report on Oct. 6 as part of the lawsuit, outlining plans to renovate facilities at Dixon, Pontiac and Logan correctional centers. The renovations would provide bed space for 900 seriously mentally ill offenders. Plus, the IDOC plans to reopen the former Joliet youth home as a mental health campus, bringing the total beds to 1,235.

The Oct. 6 filing followed a September hearing at which lawyers for the group of inmates asked the state to explain its progress in the treatment of mentally ill inmates, reported The Bloomington Pantagraph. Alan Mills, one of the lawyers for the inmates, said that they remain hopeful that the department will agree to make significant changes to improve mental-health care in the state’s prisons; however, they were disappointed with the pace of the change to date.

A court-appointed monitor examined current conditions of the prisons and brought to light the magnitude of the improvements required to provide legal level of care to mentally ill inmates. Monitor Raymond F. Patterson reported in September that segregation was used as a substitute for mental health treatment for more than 600 inmates. He said the state had not made acceptable progress on changes outlined in a May 2013 order.

The state acknowledged that it must address the need for more inpatient beds, IDOC Spokesman Tom Shaer told The Bloomington Pantagraph, and it will continue to work on a resolution, especially during the settlement talks set for Nov. 20. As a short-term solution, the state Department of Human Services plans to provide 10 beds for IDOC offenders at Chester Mental Health Center, which will require hiring two psychiatrists and a psychologist.

The Corrections Department asked for 60 days to update its plan to build or renovate a facility for male and female offenders. The state estimates it will spend $62 million a year to pay an additional 352 clinical workers and 200 security staff. The goal of the IDOC plan is to establish a graduated treatment system, for mild to severe mental illness, according to the court filing. The state is also exploring third-party options. Officials at Riveredge Hospital, Thorek Hospital and Loretto Hospital, all in the Chicago area, have met with state leaders to discuss how their facilities might accommodate inmates.