Illinois Budget Crisis Forces Jails to Serve as Mental Health Facilities

Budget crisis keeps inmates from needed mental help

By Edith Brady-Lunny
Posted: Friday, March 5, 2010 7:00 am

BLOOMINGTON -- A 20-year-old man was deemed unfit to stand trial on aggravated battery charges on Jan. 22, a finding that should have triggered his transfer to Springfield's McFarland Mental Health Center for services that would restore him to fitness.

But he and three other inmates found similarly unfit remain in the McLean County jail, the victims of a state budget crisis that has reduced services at the state mental health facility.

McLean County Sheriff Mike Emery said the four men are among a dozen inmates currently requiring special housing arrangements due to mental health issues. The jail, said Emery, "is serving as a small mental health clinic."

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