There is really no solid argument to keep investing in large, costly, archaic dinosaurs called State Operated Developmental Centers that warehouse people! It’s a shame our governor was too focused on keeping his job and forgot to do his job when he signed a labor agreement promising not to shut down any institutions or lay off staff.
To put it in perspective, Mary Todd Lincoln lived there! For that amount of money, you could stay at a five-star hotel on Michigan Avenue 365 days per year. But even better, for the same cost Illinois could fund four people in community residential services, or eight people in home based services, or 145 families could receive regular help caring for disabled loved ones through respite programs, or people could receive more than 6,800 hours of job coaching.
If everyone in our state institutions transitioned to a community-based residential setting, a $200 million savings would be realized and our state could serve nearly 4,000 more people in critical need of community-based residential supports, or more than 9,000 people could be awarded home-based services that are designed to support people to craft meaningful days and keep families intact. This would make a substantial, positive impact on many of the 20,000 people in need of community-based services waiting in line today.
Illinois needs to seriously analyze the return on their investment! It is not about needing more money, it is about responsible spending.
— Kim Zoeller, president and CEO, Ray Graham Association, Lisle
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