COMMENTARY: Anna, Illinois is notable now for an unwelcome reason. It is home to a state facility that has been the scene of alleged physical and mental abuse, over a period of decades, against some of Illinois’ most vulnerable residents.
The Choate Developmental Center in Anna, Illinois, on Aug. 26, 2022.
The census data that sums up Choate stands in stark contrast to wrenching details about episodes of alleged abuse at Choate that have been laid out in an investigative series by reporters at Capitol News Illinois and Lee Enterprises, with support from ProPublica. According to police: They strapped him to his bed. One stayed behind, inflicting more blows to the face. The worker texted to a colleague: “we just got done strappin in… I his world up this morning.” She responded: “U guys always do lol…”The reporting of these incidents has brought new attention to the long-standing history of mistreatment at Choate.between Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state Sen. Darren Bailey.
At least 26 Choate employees have been arrested on felony charges over the last decade, though not all have been convicted, the journalists found. Charges of abuse and a culture of cruelty at Choate date at least to the early 1990s, when an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit claimed conditions at Illinois’ state-run mental health facilities violated patients’ rights to health and safety.
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