Plans underway at CHS for public hearing about the closure of CMHC
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With the public hearing less than a week away, the administration at Chester High School are making final preparations for the event.
The public hearing on the closing of the Chester Mental Health Center will be held on Wednesday, October 12 at 4pm inside Daniel Colbert Gym at Chester High School. The start time for the meeting was set by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and not the administration of Chester High School nor the school district.
Students will be dismissed on October 12 at the regular dismissal time of 3:10pm. After discussing the situation with Chester Police Chief Donald McKinney, Chester High School Principal Tim Keefe says from 3:10pm to 3:30pm, the only way into the parking lot behind the campus will be from the access road which runs between the football field and the west side of the school.
Access to the parking lots behind the campus from Lee Street or Hoppe Drive will not be allowed until the students have left the parking lots which Mr. Keefe expects to be around 3:30pm. Lee Street runs along the east side of the basketball and tennis courts at CHS while Hoppe Drive is the access road from Route 150. Chester Police Chief Donald McKinney said officers will direct traffic within the parking lot and will also put up barricades around the lots once they become full. Mr. Keefe kindly requests that only people that would have difficulty walking longer distances be able to use the parking lot.
CHS support group LifeJackets will offer babysitting services from 3pm to 6pm inside the high school. Please bring your child to the entrance to the back of Juergen's gym. At that location, parents/guardians may leave your child and attend the forum. Kids will only be able to be picked up by individuals specifically designated by the person that drops the child off at Juergen's gym. The person responsible for picking up the child will have to present a valid ID. Pick-up will also be at the entrance to Juergen's gym. Again, please have your child picked up by 6:00. CHS Administration felt this would help working parents where one spouse would not be able to leave his/her work on time.
Governor Pat Quinn announced his plans for closing the Chester Mental Health Center along with six other facilities statewide as a cost cutting measure. The Chester Mental Health Center was originally established by an act of the General Assembly on June 1, 1889. The first three patients were received on November 2, 1891. The cost of the original building, which overlooked the Mississippi River, was $45,000. In 1972, ground was broken on the current site of the Chester Mental Health Center and the new facility opened in 1976. At that time, the Chester Mental Health Center was the most modern maximum security mental health facility in the country.