Commission Sets Date to Vote on Closure of Tinley Park Mental Health Center

The date has been set for the next step in deciding the fate of the .

The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability announced Thursday that it will vote Nov. 10 on the proposed closure of the center.

The bipartisan group of 12 General Assembly members will make the decision in Springfield, where it's scheduled to convene at 8 a.m. It's at that time that commissioners will also vote on the other two facilities that remain on the chopping block—the Jacksonville Developmental Center in Jacksonville and the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln.

The group already opted to keep four other Illinois centers open that were included in Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to close the gap on a $313 million budget deficit.

Though Quinn has no formal obligation to follow the commission's vote, he has done so with all eight of its recommendations since he became governor, officials said Tuesday at a hearing held on the closure of the local facility.

The local health center is operating on half the budget—about $10 million total—than it was last year. Its funding will dry up in December.

But Quinn's office told the Sun-Times Media Wednesday that there's no room for adjustments to his initial proposal.

“We have a budget and we have to act responsibly," spokesman Brie Callahan said in the story. "We can’t gamble on what may or may not happen. The goal is to close these (centers) with as minimal impact as possible."

She said there isn't excess money to move into the budget for the Illinois Department of Human Services', which runs the hospital, according to the story.

Robert Brock, DHS budget director, said Thursday that even if all seven facilities were to close up shop, the budget would still be short about $77 million.

"We have looked at this as a package," he said during a phone interview. "All the numbers we have are aggregate. They take into account all seven centers."

Layoff notices should have been sent out Wednesday, Brock said. If Quinn doesn't change his tune, the Tinley Park Mental Health Center would close its doors around Dec. 2.

Stay with Patch for more coverage of Quinn's proposal to close the center. If you'd like us to let you know when we publish more info about it, click the green "keep me posted" button below this story.

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