Illinois Mentally Ill Inmates To Get Treatment At Elgin Mental Health Center

Elgin Mental Health center in suburban Chicago has been announced to be offering treatment to Illinois inmates too henceforth who have serious mental illnesses.

In a 2007 lawsuit the state was ordered to offer better care for the mentally ill prisoners and the latest move is a part of the settlement.

Two sections of the center is learned to be accommodating forty-four beds and the transaction will take about four months from now to complete.

The plan has been hailed by the administration commenting it to be a positive step in the treatment of mental ill inmates.

However, critics argue the change comes at the cost of best offered to public.

Illinois Department of Corrections director John Baldwin said, “Prisons were not designed to be mental health facilities but we must adjust to this reality… This new inpatient treatment program will allow us to provide focused care for seriously mentally ill offenders and help them deal with daily stressors of a prison environment.”

There are presently a total of 344 beds in the facility.