State representative Charlie Meier of Okawville says his bill, House Bill 97, was assigned to a sub-committee of the Human Services Committee.

The bill calls for a thorough six-month study of the transition for patients of JDC before any other developmental centers in Illinois can be closed. The bill is designed to see how well the state handles the transition of the patients at Jacksonville before Murray Developmental Center can begin any of its own transitions.

Jacksonville state representative C. D. Davidsmeyer is a chief co-sponsor of the bill.

The bill would require the Department of Human Services to track the progress of former JDC residents for six months. DHS would then report to the General Assembly the costs of closing JDC, and cost savings or increases due to the new venues of care for residents. The report would also need detail injuries or deaths to former JDC residents in their new venues.

The bill would give DHS one year to file its report. The bill also orders that DHS may not remove a resident from any State-operated developmental center without the consent of the resident of the center or the guardian of that resident until 3 months after the report is filed.

The bill was scheduled to be called before the Human Services Committee this morning, but that was cancelled because it’s been assigned to a sub-committee.

The JDC was shutdown in November. Governor Pat Quinn ordered to close the facility and many other state-run facilities that care for the developmentally disabled. Some advocates for the developmentally disabled have long argued that group homes are a better option than state facilities.