Pritzker announces new plan for troubled mental health center in downstate Anna

CHICAGO - Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says residents at a troubled downstate mental health center will be moved amid reports of abuse, neglect and other mistreatment.

The governor spoke on the challenges facing the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna during a press conference Wednesday in Springfield.

An investigation last year by ProPublica found that Illinois State Police had launched at least 40 criminal probes over the past decade into alleged employee misconduct at the Choate facility.

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"This is not something you can snap your fingers and fix. You can hold people accountable, you can arrest people who have been breaking the law, and that's been done. Now the question is how do you change fundamentally how (inaudible) are operating and treating their people going forward. And that’s what this is part of," Pritzker said.

Pritzker says his plan includes "repurposing" the center over a three-year period in partnership with the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and appointing a new statewide chief resident safety officer.