Politics & Government

Settlement Allows Illinois Residents With Developmental Disabilities to Move Out of Institutions

Many have been on a waiting list to move into community-based housing for more than 10 years.

People with developmental disabilities in Illinois now have the choice to live in community-based housing, following a June 15 consent decree. The decree was part of a settlement to a lawsuit filed against the state in 2005. Under the settlement, 3,000 residents with developmental disabilities will move into community-based housing over the next six years.

“It’s a landmark decision that’s finally going to give people with developmental disabilities the choice that they’ve been denied for so many years,” said Barry Taylor, legal advocacy director at the not-for-profit organization Equip for Equality and lead counsel in the case.

According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, community-based housing is "the most appropriate integrated setting for a person with a mental illness or developmental disability," such as a group home. This could include permanent supportive housing; independent housing with a family member or friend; independent housing not owned or operated by a social service entity; or any supported or supervised residential service.

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The plaintiffs in the case of Ligas v. Hamos were represented by attorneys from Equip for Equality, the ACLU of Illinois, Scott Mendel, an attorney for the intervenors, and SNR Denton, which represented the clients pro bono.

Before this settlement, Illinois would pay only for institutionalized care at state intermediate-care facilities for the developmentally disabled, known as ICF-DDs.

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"The groups that support large facilities have strong political power in Illinois. They’ve been able to influence Illinois’ policy-making. The state-run facilties are unionized and the governor has a deal with the union that he would not be closing any of those facilities or eliminating jobs, so it sort of froze the state with respect to the current service-delivery model," said Taylor, adding that state-operated facilities are several times more expensive to run than providing services in the community.

The not-for-profit organization, Arc of Illinois, estimates that it costs $192,000 a year to house someone in a state-run institution.

At a time when budget cuts are hitting state programs that provide human services, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Human Services said the department is pleased with the settlement, which should save Illinois money in the long run. 

“The average cost of a community setting for a full year is approximately $32,000,” said Januari Smith, communications manager for the Illinois Department of Human Services. “The funds will now follow the individuals, and over the long term, community-based care is less expensive.”

Smith said the final cost to the state will depend on how many people choose community-based care.

The lead plaintiff in the case, Stanley Ligas, entered Sheltered Village, a state institution, after his mother died and his family could no longer care for him without assistance.

“It’s very, very noisy, and I can’t take it anymore,” said Ligas. “People are screaming, swearing."

According to his attorney, officials at Sheltered Village said it would have been appropriate for Ligas to move into the community, but only people who could show that they were in emergency situations could receive community services.

Ligas was part of the PUNS waiting list, which stands for Prioritization for Urgency of Need for Services. Currently 21,000 individuals are on the list for community services.

Community-based services are services that are provided under the Illinois State Medicaid Plan.

“[Stanley] reads and does his own checkbook; he works at Popeyes. And there’s just absolutely no reason why he should be living in a facility,” said Taylor. “Basically the reason we brought the lawsuit was that once you moved into a large facility, very few people moved out.”

Ligas’ sister, St. Charles resident Gina Foster, said the institution helped Ligas get to a place where he could live on his own.

“They taught him a lot of skills that helped to make him more independent and facilitate his ability to live in a smaller, group-home setting. The staff was outstanding,” said Foster. “As time went on, I think funding became less and less, and they were not able to do [family] activities and such for the clients and the families. Services continued to be delivered to Stanley, but he just seemed to be not as happy there, saying he wanted to move out.”

Foster said they were told in 2004 that Ligas was ready to move into community-based housing, but the waiting list was 14 years long. She said that every year since 2004, Ligas’ goal was to move out on his own.

“I’m happy. I’m happy that I could move,” said Ligas about the end of the litigation. “I want to go. I want to say goodbye to Sheltered Village."

Ligas and Arlington Heights native David Cicarelli plan to become roommates when they are allowed to move out of their institutions. Although they haven’t decided where yet, Ligas said he wants to live and work closer to his sister in St. Charles; and Cicarelli’s family said he was interested in exploring the Westmont or Hillside area to be closer to his sisters. 

“I feel happy that we won our case, finally,” said Cicarelli, 36, a resident of Riverside Foundation in Lincolnshire. He was a plaintiff in the class action suit, and has been on a waiting list to get into community-based housing for the past 15 years. 

The consent decree will allow Cicarelli,  Ligas and the three other named plaintiffs to move into community housing within 60 days, which means Cicarelli may get his wish by his birthday on Sept. 25.

Taylor said the settlement will be implemented over a six-year period, with 500 people a year moving into community-based housing.


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