Staff at Illinois' state-run Choate center didn't report a filmed beating of a disabled resident for days, and the prosecutor pled it down to no jail time
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Illinois' Department of Human Services Inspector General reported in June 2023 that staff at the state-run Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center repeatedly covered up abuse, including a case where at least eight staff 'actively colluded to obstruct' investigations, and trainees who saw abuse did not report it. Capitol News Illinois reported on September 29, 2026 that in a February 2024 attack caught on camera, a supervisor watched and did nothing, the abuse reached the Inspector General only through an anonymous report four days later, and Choate security reviewed the video a week after; the inspector general had received at least five prior allegations against the same worker. Union County State's Attorney Tyler Tripp reduced the felony aggravated-battery charge to a misdemeanor with no jail time, accepted July 20, 2026, and the outlet counted at least 26 Choate employees charged with felonies over the years with none serving prison time. IDHS said it 'does not tolerate abuse or neglect'; Tripp declined to comment.
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