Staff abused and neglected patients at an Illinois mental health facility

According to a recent report released by the Illinois Department of Human Services' watchdog office, a violent assault on a patient was covered up by several employees of Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center. According to the IDHS Inspector General's report, the "widespread cover-up" of that incident indicated a deeply entrenched "code of silence" among some employees. As a result of reporting by Capitol News Illinois, Lee Enterprises Midwest and ProPublica, the OIG report noted a culture of patient abuse and cover-ups at a state-run facility in rural southern Illinois serving people with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, or a combination of disorders. One individual was beaten in December 2014, and...