Costello issues statement following hearing of State Committee on proposed closure of Chester Mental Health Center

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ State Rep. Jerry Costello II (D-Smithton) testified in front of the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) Wednesday afternoon to keep the Chester Mental Health Center open. COGFA is a commission of state lawmakers that makes recommendations to the General Assembly on long-range planning, budget, and policy decisions that affect regional economies. Specifically, COGFA can make the recommendation to reapportion budgetary funding to keep the facilities in question open.

"Governor Quinn's ill-advised plan to close the Chester Mental Health Center would devastate our economy, cause considerable turmoil for my constituents and endanger public safety.

Many of the residents who are at Chester Mental Health are there because they had multiple incidents at other mental health facilities. They are there because the other facilities couldn't handle them. This goes back to the training, professionalism, and years of experience held by Chester's employees that the patients won't find in any other facility.

It is extremely important to understand, there is no other facility built to be what Chester is. It's a maximum security, 240-bed facility. Transferring the patients from Chester to other facilities will endanger the staff, the patient themselves, other patients, and the public at large.

An annual loss of $55 million dollars, 581 jobs lost, and $635,000 in sales tax revenue would devastate our regional economy and severely hamper efforts to bring more employers to our area. We simply cannot allow Governor Quinn's proposal stand.

I think everyone who came out today made a loud, precise statement. After seeing this unified, bipartisan argument, I am hopeful that COGFA will make the recommendation to keep the Chester Mental Health Center open."