Culture of Cruelty
Beth Hundsdorfer and Molly Parker launch the "Culture of Cruelty" investigation into the state-run Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center. State-run facilities in Illinois are supposed to care for people with mental and developmental disabilities. However, patients have been subjected to abuse, neglect and staff misconduct for decades, despite calls for change.
Illinois to relocate at least half of current residents at Choate
The Illinois Department of Human Services plans to dramatically reduce the number of patients with developmental disabilities who live at...
GOP lawmakers call for hearings in wake of abuse at Choate
Late last week, the members sent a letter to key Democratic committee chairs in the Illinois House and Senate asking...
‘Tired of being abused:’ Watchdog report shows Choate patients forced to handle own excrement
Newly released reports from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ watchdog office reveal shocking instances of cruelty, abuse and poor...
Watchdog seeks harsher penalties in wake of abuse at Choate
The watchdog for the Illinois Department of Human Services is seeking harsher penalties against health care workers who obstruct abuse...
Ongoing investigation shows nearly two dozen patients charged with crimes at state-run facility
Lutrice Williams was 23 and in crisis when she arrived at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in rural southern...
Report Finds ‘code of silence’ at mental health facility where staff abused and neglected patients
Several employees at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center attempted to cover up a brutal assault on a patient, according...
Chilling audio provides glimpse into abuse at state-run facility
The disturbing 911 call began with sounds of a struggle, then a voice that sounded like a child’s cried out,...
Pritzker calls for changes after “awful” reports of abuse at developmental center
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called patient abuses at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in rural Anna “awful” and...
At a remote mental health facility, a culture of cruelty persists despite decades of warnings
Over a year ago, the security chief at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois sent an email...
A disabled young patient was sent to get treatment. He was abused instead. And he wasn’t the last.
A 24-year-old with developmental disabilities was brutally beaten by his caretakers inside a state-run facility with a long history of...
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