Mental Health Advocacy Clinic -- Significant Accomplishments
In July, the Mental Health Advocacy Clinic successfully resolved its four-year old class action against the Illinois Department of Human Services on behalf of more than 100 residents at Elgin Mental Health Center. The Plaintiffs claimed that this state-operated psychiatric hospital was violating the Illinois Mental Health Code law by failing to provide sufficient telephone access and failing to provide Plaintiffs with “private and uncensored communication” by telephone. The agreement requires the Department to provide additional phones on each of the living units where Plaintiffs are being treated, as well as phones in private offices for communications between Plaintiffs and their lawyers. Dempsey v. Saddler, 08 CH 27221 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cty, Cty Dept., Chancery Div.) Dana Vallera, Kristen Metzger, Kate Wooler, Myla Arumagam, Lauren Modelski, Smitha Nagaraja, and You Rim Bak all worked hard to accomplish this result.