Governor Pat Quinn lays out his 2013 budget plan and it includes shutting down 14 Illinois facilities. On the cut list, for the second year in a row, Singer Mental Health Facility in Rockford. Some of the same people who worked to keep Singer open last year will try again.
"I am proposing very serious spending reductions across state agencies," says Gov. Pat Quinn.
"This is déjà vu all over again. Last year he proposed closing Singer, he's proposing to close Singer again," says Bob Izrael, AFSCME Local 31 Singer Representative and a psychologist at the facility.
In his budget address, Governor Quinn says the need to lower state spending drives the closures. The fourteen, which are mainly corrections facilities, include the supermax prison in Tamms. But there are four mental health facilities including Rockford's Singer. Though Quinn says he will transition as many people as he can to community based settings, legislators and singer workers wonder how that will happen.
"It's not a matter of just simply saying all these people can live out in the community. We are mandated by law to take care of the people who are unfit to stand trial and are not-guilty by reason of insanity so a community option is not an option for them," says Izrael.
"All that does is put a significant amount of individuals on the streets. There isn't a plan B or a way to transition these individuals into other facilities," says Republican State Senator Dave Syverson.
Singer will not automatically shut down, like last year there will be a hearing before any of the mental health facility get closed.
"He feels like he's doing what is necessary and we'll just have to fight to keep it open," says Democratic Representative Chuck Jefferson.
Governor Quinn says part of the reason cuts need to happen is to close the pension funds shortfall. Quinn put a panel together of legislators to come up with reforms. He wants to hear back from them by April 17th.
