Senate advances bill to log abuse cover-ups in state health care
registry
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[March 30, 2023]
By JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – A measure spurred by reports of abuse at Choate Mental
Health and Developmental Center passed the Senate unanimously Wednesday
and will head to the House.
The bill would prohibit health care workers who have been the subject of
a substantiated claim of “material obstruction” of an abuse
investigation from further employment in the health care field.
Those workers would be added to the Department of Public Health’s Health
Care Worker Registry, which tracks the subjects of substantiated
complaints. It would also prohibit anyone with a substantiated complaint
of physical or sexual abuse, financial exploitation, egregious neglect,
or material obstruction from “any involvement in any capacity” with
state-funded mental health or developmental disability services.
“Material obstruction” would be defined to include several types of
witness and evidence tampering and knowingly presenting false
information to investigators.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/30/images/ads/current/brandt_sda_SFARM_2023.png)
The initiative is backed by the Illinois Department of Human Services’
inspector general, whose office would be charged with substantiating
such an investigation.
“This past year and for many years before, there were reports of
individuals at state facilities being injured in their centers,” Sen.
Laura Fine, D-Glenview, said on the Senate floor. “It is the job of the
state to protect our most vulnerable, to ensure the health safety and
financial condition of people with mental illness and or developmental
disabilities from abuse and neglect.”
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![](../images/033023PIX/news_d79.jpg)
State Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, is
pictured on the Senate floor Wednesday. She is the sponsor of a bill
that would prohibit health care workers who have been the subject of
a substantiated claim of “material obstruction” of an abuse
investigation from further employment in the health care field.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/30/images/ads/current/beescub_lda_SFARM_2023.png)
Fine said the legislation was spurred by recent reports of abuse at
Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in downstate Anna. Capitol
News Illinois, Lee Enterprises Midwest and ProPublica published a
monthslong news investigation revealing a culture of abuse and cover-ups
at the facility.
IDHS Inspector General Peter Neumer spoke in favor of Senate Bill 855 in
committee on Tuesday. He said he expected his office would invoke the
new provisions “likely a handful of times each year.”
“If you are found out that you did obstruct an investigation, you lied,
you falsified information, a report or something of that nature, you
could jeopardize your career in the health care industry,” he said. “And
we believe that deterrent would be important because we need people to
come forth, to speak up, to say what they've seen, so that we can ensure
that abuse and neglect is not occurring.”
Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, whose district includes Choate, said the
bill was “extremely important” in light of the allegations of abuse.
“It's time we really get this on the radar,” he said during Senate
debate.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news
service covering state government. It is distributed to more than 400
newspapers statewide, as well as hundreds of radio and TV stations. It
is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R.
McCormick Foundation. |