Rep. Charlie Meier Holds DHS Accountable as Local Client is Jailed

CARLYLE, IL - State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) has been a strong supporter of intellectually and developmentally disabled people for years. Recently, Meier was informed that the system that is supposed to protect these people was failing a local resident.

Last week, a thirty-six-year-old male, with the mental capacity of an eight-year-old, was removed from his home at Choate Mental Facility and forced into the Clinton County Jail while he was under the care of the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS). This individual was forced to stay in a cold jail cell for seven days. The Clinton County Sheriff's Office did the best they could to make him comfortable, including setting him up with a television to watch the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals game, a phone so he could call his mother, and assistance from the Sheriff's employees should he need any help.

"This individual should never have been in jail - it's that simple," said State Representative Charlie Meier. "DHS' mismanagement is well-known. Audits show that they are consistently late on reporting requirements, have cases of neglect and abuse in their facilities, and some are even non-compliant with federal and state regulation. We have to remember that these are vulnerable humans under the care of the State of Illinois who are neglected and abused because of their mismanagement."

Representative Charlie Meier and Sheriff Dan Travous worked relentlessly to get this individual out of jail and back into care. As of Friday, September 12, the individual has left the Clinton County Jail and is back at Choate Mental Facility.

"Without Sheriff Travous and his staff, this could have been weeks or even months until this was resolved. This individual now will now live with the trauma of being put in jail for reasons he does not understand because of DHS' actions."

Meier also noted that the family of this individual's advocacy was key. DHS not only failed to inform the family of this individual that he had been moved from the Clinton County Jail back to Choate Mental Center, but DHS also never informed the family that he had been moved from Choate to jail in the first place. Without communication from Sheriff Travous , they would not have known where their loved one was.

"It should not take a State Representative, Sheriff, and other advocates in order for the system to work correctly," said Meier. "I'm grateful that this individual is back with caretakers and out of jail, but I am also frustrated because I know that this is not the last case we will hear of. Think about it - Democrats in Springfield are letting dangerous criminals back on the streets, but putting our most vulnerable behind bars. I'm going to keep fighting until this mismanagement and lack of accountability is over with."