HIGHLAND, IL – State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) is calling for the resignation of Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dulce Quintero. His call for the Secretary to resign follows years of tumult at DHS, including a horrific audit that outlined poor recordkeeping, abuse, and neglect, and the abrupt announcement that DHS would be drastically scaling back services at Choate Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center in Anna.
With Governor JB Pritzker’s own admission of the failures at DHS, it has become clear that the leadership of Secretary Quintero is unacceptable.
Rep. Charlie Meier issued the following statement:
“Secretary Dulce Quintero has been overseeing this critically important agency for years. When I ordered an audit of DHS, I was able to prove the lack of accountability and oversight at all levels within DHS. Hundreds of people deemed unfit to stand trial sit in Illinois jails for months waiting for DHS to place them in a facility. Abuse and neglect continue to run rampant through Community Integrated Living Arrangements (CILAs) and State-Operated Developmental Centers (SODCs), and our basic questions about the botched announcement that DHS would be slamming the doors at Choate have gone unanswered. The Secretary could not even be bothered to show up – or send anyone from DHS – to attend the community’s town hall with residents, employees, and families in Anna.
“Governor Pritzker and Director Quintero have ignored the taxpayer-funded study from SIU that outlined how Choate could continue to provide services for our vulnerable.
“The past practices of closures have treated humans more like livestock than people, rounding them up and throwing them in busses at all hours of the night with no thoughts of how the move will impact the individuals or their families. How humane is this?
“Director Quintero’s agency even goes as far as to tell families that the only way their loved ones can receive services is to give up guardianship of them to the state. It is sickening.
“Director Quintero has approved promotions for employees under DHS’ control, despite their direct oversight of abuse in other CILAs and SODCs. I have personally seen nonverbal residents who had been living in a CILA brought to SODCs on hospice to die, and the only thing wrong with them was lack of nourishment. Those residents are now flourishing in an SODC that can properly meet their needs.
“This Secretary does not answer our questions, listen to our concerns, and was responsible for what people call the worst audit in Illinois history, and hopefully Governor Pritzker has learned his lesson and agrees that it is time for new leadership at DHS.
“All abuse needs to be reported, investigated, and punished. Secretary Quintero has a unique ability to promote bad employees rather than ensure they take accountability, and this Secretary stalls any type of investigation into CILAs and addressing abuse where it happens. When it happens in SODCs, the Secretary uses it as reasons to shut them down while turning their back on rape, sexual assault, and abuse in CILAs.
“This is about protecting, honoring, and respecting our most vulnerable residents. An agency this vital cannot continue to operate without accountability or strong leadership. Secretary Dulce Quintero should do the right thing for the people of Illinois and step aside, giving someone else the opportunity to clean up the mess and restore accountability at DHS.”
Rep. Meier serves on the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission and is a member of the House Human Services committee.