In Crisis, She Went to an Illinois Facility. Two Years Later, She Still Isn’t Able to Leave.
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Series: Culture of Cruelty:Inside Illinois’ Mental Health System
State-run facilities in Illinois are supposed to care for people with mental and developmental disabilities. But patients have been subjected to abuse, neglect and staff misconduct for decades, despite calls for change.
Kaleigh Rogers was in crisis when she checked into a state-run institution on Illinois’ northern border two years ago. Rogers, who has cerebral palsy, had a mental health breakdown during the pandemic and was acting aggressively toward herself and others.
Before COVID-19, she had been living in a small group home; she had been taking college classes online and enjoyed going out with friends, volunteering and going to church. But when her aggression escalated, she needed more medical help than her community setting could provide.
With few viable options for intervention, she moved into Kiley Developmental Center in Waukegan, a much larger facility. There, she says she has fewer freedoms and almost nothing to do, and was placed in a unit with six other residents, all of whom are unable to speak. Although the stay was meant to be short term, she’s been there for two years.
The predicament facing Rogers and others like her is proof, advocates say, that the state is failing to live up to the promise it made in a 13-year-old federal consent decree to serve people in the community.
Rogers, 26, said she has lost so much at Kiley: her privacy, her autonomy and her purpose. During dark times, she cries on the phone to her mom, who has reduced the frequency of her visits because it is so upsetting for Rogers when her mom has to leave.
The 220-bed developmental center about an hour north of Chicago is one of seven in the state that have been plagued by allegations of abuse and other staff misconduct. The facilities have been the subject of a monthslong investigation by Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica about the state’s failures to correct poor conditions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The news organizations uncovered instances of staff who had beaten, choked, thrown, dragged and humiliated residents inside the state-run facilities.
Advocates hoped the state would become less reliant on large institutions like these when they filed a lawsuit in 2005, alleging that Illinois’ failure to adequately fund community living options ended up segregating people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from society by forcing them to live in institutions. The suit claimed Illinois was in direct violation of a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision in another case, which found that states had to serve people in the most integrated setting of their choosing.
Negotiations resulted in a consent decree, a court-supervised improvement plan. The state agreed to find and fund community placements and services for individuals covered by the consent decree, thousands of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Illinois who have put their names on waiting lists to receive them.
Now, the state has asked a judge to consider ending the consent decree, citing significant increases in the number of people receiving community-based services. In a court filing in December, Illinois argued that while its system is “not and never will be perfect,” it is “much more than legally adequate.”
But advocates say the consent decree should not be considered fulfilled as long as people with disabilities continue to live without the services and choices that the state promised.
Across the country, states have significantly downsized or closed their large-scale institutions for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities in favor of smaller, more integrated and more homelike settings.
But in Illinois, a national outlier, such efforts have foundered. Efforts to close state-operated developmental centers have been met with strong opposition from labor unions, the communities where the centers are located, local politicians and some parents.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in Chicago is scheduled in late summer to decide whether the state has made enough progress in building up community supports to end the court’s oversight.
For some individuals like Rogers, who are in crisis or have higher medical or behavioral challenges, the state itself acknowledges that it has struggled to serve them in community settings. Rogers said she’d like to send this message on behalf of those in state-operated developmental centers: “Please, please get us out once and for all.”
“Living Inside a Box”
Without a robust system of community-based resources and living arrangements to intervene during a crisis, state-operated developmental centers become a last resort for people with disabilities. But under the consent decree agreement, the state, Equip for Equality argues, is expected to offer sufficient alternative crisis supports to keep people who want them out of these institutions.
In a written response to questions, Rachel Otwell, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services, said the state has sought to expand the menu of services it offers people experiencing a crisis, in an effort to keep them from going into institutions. But Andrea Rizor, a lawyer with Equip for Equality, said, “They just don’t have enough to meet the demand.”
For example, the state offers stabilization homes where people can live for 90 days while they receive more intensive support from staff serving the homes, including medication reviews and behavioral interventions. But there are only 32 placements available — only four of them for women — and the beds are always full, Rizor said.
Too many people, she said, enter a state-run institution for short-term treatment and end up stuck there for years for various reasons, including shortcomings with the state’s discharge planning and concerns from providers who may assume those residents to be disruptive or difficult to serve without adequate resources.
That’s what happened to Rogers. Interruptions to her routine and isolation during the pandemic sent her anxiety and aggressive behaviors into overdrive. The staff at her community group home in Machesney Park, unsure of what to do when she acted out, had called the police on several occasions.
Doctors also tried to intervene, but the cocktail of medications she was prescribed turned her into a “zombie,” Rogers said. Stacey Rogers, her mom and legal guardian, said she didn’t know where else to turn for help. Kiley, she said, “was pretty much the last resort for us,” but she never intended for her daughter to be there for this long. She’s helped her daughter apply to dozens of group homes over the past year. A few put her on waitlists; most have turned her down.
“Right now, all she’s doing is living inside a box,” Stacey Rogers said.
Although Rogers gave the news organizations permission to ask about her situation, IDHS declined to comment, citing privacy restrictions. In general, the IDHS spokesperson said that timelines for leaving institutions are “specific to each individual” and their unique preferences, such as where they want to live and speciality services they may require in a group home.
Equip for Equality points to people like Rogers to argue that the consent decree has not been sufficiently fulfilled. She’s one of several hundred in that predicament, the organization said.
“If the state doesn’t have capacity to serve folks in the community, then the time is not right to terminate this consent decree, which requires community capacity,” Rizor said.
Equip for Equality has said that ongoing safety issues in these facilities make it even more important that people covered by the consent decree not be placed in state-run institutions. In an October court brief, citing the news organizations’ reporting, Equip for Equality said that individuals with disabilities who were transferred from community to institutional care in crisis have “died, been raped, and been physically and mentally abused.”
Over the summer, an independent court monitor assigned to provide expert opinions in the consent decree, in a memo to the court, asked a judge to bar the state from admitting those individuals into its institutions.
In its December court filing, the state acknowledged that there are some safety concerns inside its state-run centers, “which the state is diligently working on,” as well as conditions inside privately operated facilities and group homes “that need to be addressed.” But it also argued that conditions inside its facilities are outside the scope of the consent decree. The lawsuit and consent decree specifically aimed to help people who wanted to move out of large private institutions, but plaintiffs’ attorneys argue that the consent decree prohibits the state from using state-run institutions as backup crisis centers.
In arguing to end the consent decree, the state pointed to significant increases in the number of people served since it went into effect. There were about 13,500 people receiving home- and community-based services in 2011 compared with more than 23,000 in 2023, it told the court.
The state also said it has significantly increased funding that is earmarked to pay front-line direct support professionals who assist individuals with daily living needs in the community, such as eating and grooming.
In a statement to reporters, the human services department called these and other improvements to the system “extraordinary.”
Lawyers for the state argued that those improvements are enough to end court oversight.
“The systemic barriers that were in place in 2011 no longer exist,” the state’s court filing said.
Among those who were able to find homes in the community is Stanley Ligas, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that led to the consent decree. When it was filed in 2005, he was living in a roughly 100-bed private facility but wanted to move into a community home closer to his sister. The state refused to fund his move.
Today, the 56-year-old lives in Oswego with three roommates in a house they rent. All of them receive services to help their daily living needs through a nonprofit, and Ligas has held jobs in the community: He previously worked in a bowling alley and is now paid to make public appearances to advocate for others with disabilities. He lives near his sister, says he goes on family beach vacations and enjoys watching professional wrestling with friends. During an interview with reporters, Ligas hugged his caregiver and said he’s “very happy” and hopes others can receive the same opportunities he’s been given.
While much of that progress has come only in recent years, under Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration, it has proven to be vulnerable to political and economic changes. After a prolonged budget stalemate, the court in 2017 found Illinois out of compliance with the Ligas consent decree.
At the time, late and insufficient payments from the state had resulted in a staffing crisis inside community group homes, leading to escalating claims of abuse and neglect and failures to provide routine services that residents relied on, such as help getting to work, social engagements and medical appointments in the community. Advocates worry about what could happen under a different administration, or this one, if Illinois’ finances continue to decline as projected.
“I acknowledge the commitments that this administration has made. However, because we had so far to come, we still have far to go,” said Kathy Carmody, chief executive of The Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities, which represents providers.
While the wait for services is significantly shorter than it was when the consent decree went into effect in 2011, there are still more than 5,000 adults who have told the state they want community services but have yet to receive them, most of them in a family home. Most people spend about five years waiting to get the services they request. And Illinois continues to rank near the bottom in terms of the investment it makes in community-based services, according to a University of Kansas analysis of states’ spending on services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Advocates who believe the consent decree has not been fulfilled contend that Illinois’ continued reliance on congregate settings has tied up funds that could go into building up more community living options. Each year, Illinois spends about $347,000 per person to care for those in state-run institutions compared with roughly $91,000 per person spent to support those living in the community.
For Rogers, the days inside Kiley are long, tedious and sometimes chaotic. It can be stressful, but Rogers told reporters that she uses soothing self-talk to calm herself when she feels sad or anxious.
“I tell myself: ‘You are doing good. You are doing great. You have people outside of here that care about you and cherish you.’”
This article is republished from ProPublica under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Green Curry Salmon Burgers
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These lean and healthy burgers are as quick and easy to make as they are good for entertaining. The serving-bed has its nutritional secrets too! All in all, an especially heart-healthy and brain-healthy dish.
You will need
- 4 skinless salmon fillets, cubed (Vegetarian/Vegan? Consider this Plant-Based Salmon Recipe or, since they are getting blended, simply substitute 1½ cups cooked chickpeas instead with 1 tbsp tahini)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp thai green curry paste
- juice of two limes, plus wedges to serve
- 1 cup quinoa
- ½ cup edamame beans, thawed if they were frozen
- large bunch fresh cilantro (or parsley if you have the “soap “cilantro tastes like soap” gene), chopped
- extra virgin olive oil, for frying
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
Method
(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)
1) Put the salmon, garlic, curry paste, nutritional yeast, and half the lime juice into a food processor, and blend until smooth.
2) Remove, divide into four parts, and shape into burger patty shapes. Put them in the fridge where they can firm up while we do the next bit.
3) Cook the quinoa with the tablespoon of chia seeds added (which means boiling water and then letting it simmer for 10–15 minutes; when the quinoa is tender and unfurled a little, it’s done).
4) Drain the quinoa with a sieve, and stir in the edamame beans, the rest of the lime juice, the cilantro, and the black pepper. Set aside.
5) Using the olive oil, fry the salmon burgers for about 5 minutes on each side.
6) Serve; we recommend putting the burgers atop the rest, and adding a dash of lime at the table.
(it can also be served this way!)
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:
- Farmed Fish vs Wild–Caught
- Level-Up Your Fiber Intake! (Without Difficulty Or Discomfort)
- What Omega-3 Fatty Acids Really Do For Us
- If You’re Not Taking Chia, You’re Missing Out
- Our Top 5 Spices: How Much Is Enough For Benefits?
Take care!
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Are Fruit & Vegetable Extract Supplements Worth It?
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At 10almonds we are always extolling the virtues of fruits and vegetables, but how much do those benefits still exist when we’re looking at a fruit and vegetable extract supplement?
We examined one aspect of this previously, here;
Mediterranean Diet… In A Pill?
This looked at getting the anti-inflammatory benefits of the Mediterranean diet, in supplement form, by providing extracts of 16 key plant extracts—which also provides an excellent shopping list, by the way, if you just want to skip the supplements and buy those plants; if nine top scientists (anti-aging specialists, neurobiologists, pharmacologists, and at least one professor of applied statistics) came to the conclusion that to get the absolute most bang-for-buck possible, those are the plants to get the phytochemicals from, then we’re not going to ignore that!
And yes, the short answer was “it does very significantly improve anti-inflammatory markers”, by the way.
But when it comes to benefits from polyphenols, anti-inflammatory powers are very much “low-hanging fruit”, so to speak. It’s the “fork found in kitchen” level of shocking revelation. It’s what polyphenols are best at (tied with antioxidant powers, which directly mediate their anti-inflammatory powers).
So, what about something more challenging, like brain benefits?
Underrated Brain Boosters
A European research team (Dr. Begoña Cerdá et al.) looked at the effects of polyphenol-rich nutraceuticals (plant extracts) on cognitive function and neuroprotection biomarkers.
It was a randomized, crossover, double-blind, sex-stratified, placebo-controlled clinical trial that had people take the supplement or a placebo for 16 weeks, have a 4-week washout phase (to minimize leftover effects contaminating the data) and then switching groups (still blinded to the placebo control) for 16 weeks.
They tested cognitive function and neuroprotection biomarkers in various ways before and after each of the testing phases (so, four testing sessions in total per person: before and after the supplement + before and after the placebo).
The results:
❝The results suggested that participants who consumed the polyphenol-rich nutraceutical demonstrated significant improvements in cognitive performance compared to the placebo group.
The Stroop Test scores indicated enhanced attention and inhibitory control, while RIST results suggested improvements in logical reasoning and memory. The Trail Making Test also revealed increased cognitive flexibility, highlighting the supplement’s potential to boost overall mental agility.
Furthermore, the ELISA results showed a notable increase in BDNF and CREB levels among participants who took the active supplement. BDNF is a protein that is essential for neuronal growth and survival, and its levels were significantly elevated, reinforcing its role in synaptic plasticity and long-term memory formation.
Additionally, CREB, a transcription factor involved in learning processes, also showed increased levels, supporting its function in cognitive enhancement.
Importantly, the correlation between improved test scores and higher biomarker levels suggested that polyphenols may directly influence brain function rather than merely offering general health benefits.
While the study focused on healthy adults, the findings also raised questions about whether similar interventions could benefit populations at risk for cognitive decline, including older adults and individuals with neurodegenerative conditions.❞
Key to abbreviations:
- RIST = Reynolds Intellectual Screening Test
- ELISA = Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assays
- BDNF = Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
- CREB = cAMP-Response Element Binding Protein
- cAMP = Cyclic Adenosine MonoPhosphate
Source: Daily fruit and vegetable extracts may boost brain power ← we quoted a pop-sci article for the above summary, for easier readability while still having the critical conclusions in one place
For those who do want to dive into the actual data and a lot more detail about the study methodology (which is well worth reading if you have the time, as it’s very good), here is the actual study:
If nothing else, be aware that the usual benchmark for statistical significance is p < 0.05, whereas the results in this study ranged from p < 0.01 to p < 0.001, in other words, ranging from 5x more significant than is required to be called “significant”, to 50x more significant than is required to be called “significant”.
In fewer words: impressively significant
In lay terms: the scientists are about as sure as scientists ever get about anything, that this supplement produces significant results
What was the supplement they tested?
Good news! It was…
- a commercially available supplement (JuicePlus), which is convenient, because it means we (and you, dear reader) can get it if we so choose
- not paid for by JuicePlus or anyone associated with them (indeed, the funding declaration on the study is “This research received no external funding”), so not subject to any conflict of interest that might introduce bias into the study
As for why they chose that one:
❝A unique aspect of the polyphenol-rich nutraceutical evaluated in this study lies in its composition, which integrates a blend of fruit, vegetable, and berry juice powders.
This product, Juice Plus+ Premium®, contains over 119 distinct polyphenolic compounds, including flavanols, anthocyanins, and flavones, as demonstrated in prior compositional analyses.
Compared to other polyphenol-based interventions, this nutraceutical stands out due to its comprehensive formulation, combining a wide range of bioactive compounds with complementary antioxidant and neuroprotective effects.
These characteristics ensure a more diverse interaction with neurobiological pathways, including those related to oxidative stress mitigation, synaptic plasticity, and cognitive function❞
Source: Ibid. (it’s in the introduction)
Want to try some?
We don’t sell it, but for your convenience, here’s where to get JuicePlus supplements Amazon 😎
Enjoy!
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Psychedelics and Psychotherapy – Edited by Dr. Tim Read & Maria Papaspyrou
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A quick note on authorship, first: this book is edited by the psychiatrist and psychotherapist credited above, but after the introductory section, the rest of the chapters are written by experts on the individual topics.As such, the style will vary somewhat, from chapter to chapter.
What this book isn’t: “try drugs and feel better!”
Rather, the book explores the various ways in which assorted drugs can help people to—even if just briefly—shed things they didn’t know they were carrying, or otherwise couldn’t put down, and access parts of themselves they otherwise couldn’t.
We also get to read a lot about the different roles the facilitator can play in guiding the therapeutic process, and what can be expected out of each kind of experience. This varies a lot from one drug to another, so it makes for very worthwhile reading, if that’s something you might consider pursuing. Knowledge makes for much more informed choices!
Bottom line: if you’re curious about the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, and want a reference that’s more personal than dry clinical studies, but still more “safe and removed” than diving in by yourself, this is the book for you.
Click here to check out Psychedelics and Psychotherapy, and expand your understanding!
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Science of Stretch – by Dr. Leada Malek
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This book is part of a “Science of…” series, of which we’ve reviewed some others before (Yoga | HIIT | Pilates), and needless to say, we like them.
You may be wondering: is this just that thing where a brand releases the same content under multiple names to get more sales, and no, it’s not (long-time 10almonds readers will know: if it were, we’d say so!).
While flexibility and mobility are indeed key benefits in yoga and Pilates, they looked into the science of what was going on in yoga asanas and Pilates exercises, stretchy or otherwise, so the stretching element was not nearly so deep as in this book.
In this one, Dr. Malek takes us on a wonderful tour of (relevant) human anatomy and physiology, far deeper than most pop-science books go into when it comes to stretching, so that the reader can really understand every aspect of what’s going on in there.
This is important, because it means busting a lot of myths (instead of busting tendons and ligaments and things), understanding why certain things work and (critically!) why certain things don’t, how certain stretching practices will sabotage our progress, things like that.
It’s also beautifully clearly illustrated! The cover art is a fair representation of the illustrations inside.
Bottom line: if you want to get serious about stretching, this is a top-tier book and you won’t regret it.
Click here to check out Science of Stretching, and learn what you can do and how!
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Thinking, Fast and Slow – by Dr. Daniel Kahneman
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We all try to make the best decisions we can with the information available… Don’t we?
Yet, somehow, a survival chance of 90% seems better than a mortality rate of 10%, and as it turns out, we as fallible humans are prey to all manner of dubious heuristics.
Nobel Prize winner Dr. Daniel Kahneman lays out for us two sytems of thought process:
- Fast, intuitive, emotional
- Slow, deliberate, logical
He makes the case for how and why we do need both, but often end up using the wrong one. He notes how the first is required for efficiency, or we would spend all day deciding what socks to wear… The second, meanwhile, is required for high-stakes decisions, but is lazy by nature, and often we don’t engage it when we ought to.
Over the course of many diverse examples, Dr. Kahneman shows how again and again, the second system is slowly cogitating at the back of the class, while the first system is bouncing up and down with its hand in the air saying “I know! I know!”, even when, in fact, it does not know.
For a book largely founded in economics (it’s a massive takedown of the notion of the rational consumer), it is not at all dry, and is very readable in style. It’s engaging throughout, and readers far removed from Wall Street will find plenty of ways it relates to our everyday lives.
Bottom line: if you’d like to avoid making many mistakes in what you’d assumed to be rational decisions, this book is critical reading.
Click here to check out “Thinking, Fast And Slow”, and enjoy the results of better decisions!
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Strong Curves – by Bret Contreras & Kellie Davis
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The title (and subtitle) is, of course, an appeal to vanity. However, the first-listed author is well-known as “The Glute Guy”, and he takes this very seriously, not just for aesthetic reasons but also for practical reasons.
After all, when it comes to posture and stability, a lot rests on our hips, and hips, well, they rest on our butt and thighs. What’s more, the gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body, so really, is it a good one to neglect? Probably not, and your lower back will definitely thank you for keeping your glutes in good order, too.
That said, while it’s a focal point, it’s not the be-all-and-end-all, and this book does cover the whole body.
The book takes the reader from “absolute beginner” to “could compete professionally”, with clearly-illustrated and well-described exercises. We also get a strong “crash course” in the relevant anatomy and physiology, and even a chapter on nutrition, which is a lot better than a lot of exercise books’ efforts in that regard.
For those who like short courses, this book has several progressive 12-week workout plans that take the reader from a very clear starting point to a very clear goal point.
Another strength of the book is that while a lot of exercises expect (and require) access to a gym, there are also whole sections of “at home / bodyweight” exercises, including 12-week workout plans for such, as described above.
Bottom line: there’s really nothing bad that this reviewer can find to say about this one—highly recommendable to any woman who wants to get strong while keeping a feminine look.
Click here to check out Strong Curves, and rebuild your body, your way!
PS: at first glance, the cover art looks like an AI model; it’s not; that’s the co-author Kellie Davis, who also serves as the model through the book’s many photographic illustrations.
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