Surprise and unanswered questions after state announces changes at Choate
Illinois plans to restructure Choate Mental Health Center, relocating residents and prompting debate over safety and workforce impacts.
Investigative ReporterMolly joined Capitol News Illinois in July 2023. Most recently, she worked as a reporter for Lee Enterprises, on its Midwest Public Service Journalism team and for The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale. In that role, Molly exposed poor living conditions and mismanagement of a housing authority in Cairo, Illinois, that resulted in a federal takeover and the relocation of about 400 people. In 2022, Molly and Capitol News Illinois Reporter Beth Hundsdorfer won the domestic print award in the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights journalism contest for a series of stories exposing patient abuse inside a state-run developmental center. Molly is also an assistant professor of journalism at Southern Illinois University and a distinguished fellow with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. Contact Molly
Illinois plans to restructure Choate Mental Health Center, relocating residents and prompting debate over safety and workforce impacts.
The Illinois Department of Human Services plans to dramatically reduce the number of patients with developmental disabilities who live at...
Late last week, the members sent a letter to key Democratic committee chairs in the Illinois House and Senate asking...
Newly released reports from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ watchdog office reveal shocking instances of cruelty, abuse and poor...
The watchdog for the Illinois Department of Human Services is seeking harsher penalties against health care workers who obstruct abuse...
Lutrice Williams was 23 and in crisis when she arrived at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in rural southern...
Several employees at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center attempted to cover up a brutal assault on a patient, according...
The disturbing 911 call began with sounds of a struggle, then a voice that sounded like a child’s cried out,...
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called patient abuses at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in rural Anna “awful” and...
Over a year ago, the security chief at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois sent an email...