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Even though Gov.
George Ryan has announced the complete closure of the Lincoln
Developmental Center, the Lincoln Parents Association, a group of
about 250 parents of LDC residents, is not giving up the fight to
save the institution that, they affirm over and over again, is
taking good care of their children.
Pat and Linda Brown of Leroy, co-presidents of Lincoln Parents
Association, study a list of senators who voted to keep LDC open.
"I absolutely will
not quit until I hear the key in the lock, and maybe not even then,"
said Janet Bruns of Taylorville.
"Somebody set this
place up to close many years ago. Many of the charges are bogus.
They are not even charges, only allegations. Somebody has a
political agenda."
Bruns was one of
about 50 parents from all over central Illinois who got together
Saturday at Lincoln’s Depot restaurant to talk over the latest
developments and meet with the press. Ironically, exactly 40 years
ago that day she put her daughter into LDC.
"Her life expectancy
at birth was one year. She’s 42 now. Without their good care she
would not be here."
Robert Springer of
Eureka said the allegations of abuse and neglect that led to the
decision to close the 125-year-old facility have been blown out of
proportion.
"The governor said a
new management team was being sent in to put the facility back on
track. The team was not looking for positives but for negatives.
They were looking for things they could report. We see no good
reason why LDC should be closed."
He said he and his
wife, Eileen, have never felt any fear about their daughter, Jannie,
who has been at LDC since 1984.
Several of the
parents were concerned that the Department of Human Services, the
state agency in charge of LDC, would move their sons or daughters to
group homes. These homes, which house eight residents each, do not
have the trained staff to adequately care for their loved ones, they
say.
Rosemary
Murray (left), formerly of San Jose, & Joanne Courtwright of
Lincoln, both widows in frail health, are concerned about the future
of their sons when LDC closes.
"They’ve been telling
me all along my son would never have to leave Lincoln," said
Rosemary Murray, a widow in frail health. She held up a letter she
had received that morning.
"Now they are telling
me they are considering him for community placement. He has been in
community placement, and he became so self-abusive he had to be
hospitalized. He was admitted to LDC, and they brought him back to a
proper functioning level."
Joanne Courtwright,
also a widow with health problems, cites a similar experience. In
1980, her son was sent to another facility but had to be brought
back to LDC.
"He’s subject to
seizures," she said. "Doctors and nurses at LDC monitor him and can
tell when he is in danger of a seizure and take the proper
precautions. This kind of care would not be available in a group
home."
"My daughter can’t be
anywhere else. We tried community placement, and it didn’t work out.
I couldn’t take care of her at home, and I couldn’t travel a long
way to see her," said Jerry May of Peoria.
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Angie Gaffigan, a
registered nurse, has had a son at LDC for the last 10 years. She
says she brings him home regularly and does a body assessment, so
she knows he’s well cared for.
"LDC is safer for him
than community placement, because in group homes there are not that
many people around. The chance for abuse and neglect is greater in a
group home than in a facility with more staff.
"I’ve been in group
homes where you can smell the urine and feces, and I know good ones
are difficult to find. The threat of having their son or daughter
put in a group home is a big concern for parents who are aging."
Robert and
Eileen Springer of Eureka have been happy the care their daughter
has received at LDC since 1984.
Parents are also
unhappy with the lack of communication with DHS. "We can’t get
information about what’s happening. The department doesn’t respond
to letters we write. We need to get our questions answered," Eleanor
Newmister said.
"DHS is masterful at
keeping information from our association as well as from the
public," said Pat Brown, co-president of the parents association.
"They use confidentiality rules as an obstructive tool.
"We can’t get
information about what was actual reported to upper-echelon DHS
bureaucrats or to the governor, so there is no way we can refute any
charges. We can get information about our particular loved one but
not anything else," he said.
"It’s not time to
give up now," Brown told the group. "We are going to continue the
fight. We know we are in the right."
Keeping up the fight
means leaning on politicians, he said. The group has tallied the
votes of members of the state Senate, which recently failed to
override the governor’s veto on restoring LDC funding.
"Politicians need
votes. Those that voted against us need to be encouraged to do the
right thing," Brown said.
He said he was
disappointed with Senate Democrats, because only four voted to keep
LDC open.
"The Cook County
Democrats didn’t go with them. Logan County is Republican, and
that’s the political world we live in."
The parents group
should also keep the pressure on the two gubernatorial candidates,
both of whom have promised to support LDC, he added. "One of those
guys is going to be our next governor. Both have promised help."
Another way to
continue the fight is the lawsuit filed by AFSCME, the union that
represents most of the employees of LDC, Norlan and Eleanor
Newmister, parents of an LDC resident, and Sen. Larry Bomke of
Springfield, which is now before the Appellate Court.
Also, before closing LDC, Gov. Ryan must
get a permit from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, and
the board must schedule public hearings at which parents and others
can testify.
[Joan
Crabb]
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