The Chester Mental Health Center is the only

State of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...

' maximum security forensic

mental health facility Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

for those committed via a court order or deemed an escape risk. The facility is operated by the State of Illinois in

Chester, Illinois Chester is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, Illinois, United States, on a bluff above the Mississippi River. The population was 6,814 at the 2020 census. It lies south of St. Louis, Missouri. History Founding Samuel Smith is ...

, and is a part of the

Illinois Department of Human Services The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) is the department of the Illinois state government responsible for providing a wide variety of safety net services to Illinois residents in poverty, who are facing other economic challenges, or who ...

, formerly the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. It is adjacent to the

Menard Correctional Center Menard Correctional Center, known prior to 1970 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary, is an Illinois state prison located in the town of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois. It houses maximum-security and high medium-security adult males. The ave ...

. The other secure mental health center in Illinois is Elgin Mental Health Center, which houses women as well as men. Chester Mental Health Center is a men's facility.

History

The Board of Charities recommended a separate institution for the criminally insane as early as 1878. In 1879, the legislature authorized such a facility, but the appropriation was not used for this. In 1883, the governor again tried to fund a new institution, but there was disagreement over the site with both

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

and Joliet as possibilities. In 1889, the legislature established the Asylum for Insane Criminals, and it received its first patients on November 2, 1891. W.T. Patterson transferred from the staff of

Elgin State Hospital The Elgin Mental Health Center (formerly Elgin State Hospital & the Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane) is a mental health facility operated by the State of Illinois in Elgin, Illinois. Throughout its history, Elgin's mission has ...

to become its first Superintendent. Control of the institution was placed with the Commissioners of the Southern Penitentiary at Menard. The original building on the penitentiary grounds was poorly constructed and was eventually torn down. A replacement was built on a separate campus near Chester, Illinois. When the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities was abolished in 1909, the institute was reorganized and renamed Chester State Hospital effective January 1, 1910. In 1917, the Department of Public Welfare assumed responsibility for Chester State Hospital and retained control until the creation of the Department of Mental Health in 1961 (L. 1961, p. 2666). In 1975, the hospital changed its name to the Chester Mental Health Center.

Today

The hospital is primarily used to care for forensic patients who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity, those persons found unfit to stand trial, and those who cannot be housed in a less secure setting. The patients (not convicts, as they have not been sentenced to a correctional facility) are required by Illinois law to remain confined in a mental hospital for a period of time.

Attempted closing

In late 2011 Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn attempted to close down this facility, citing cost as the reason. However, it was decided that Chester Mental Health must remain open because there is no other maximum security mental facility to house people found unfit to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity in the state of Illinois.

References

{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1891 1889 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures in Randolph County, Illinois Hospitals established in 1889 Hospitals in Illinois Psychiatric hospitals in Illinois