(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Gov. JB Pritzker Tuesday defended the layoffs of about 250 people who worked at the Choate Mental Health Center (pictured) in southern Illinois. “Remember, the reason there are staff reductions is because we have literally moved the developmentally disabled residents there to better facilities; so, at some point, you don’t need staff when there is nobody at that facility,” said Pritzker after a bill-signing ceremony in Elgin.
Reporters also asked the governor about the still-unresolved case of an Illinois State Police shooting in January that killed Rachel Tarrance, 40, in East St. Louis. The St Clair County state’s attorney declined to prosecute the trooper involved. “It now sits with the Illinois State Police to review the policies and procedures, and whether or not they were followed, and I have not yet heard from the ISP about that,” said the governor.
Pritzker said he has only recently watched video of the incident.
The governor Tuesday signed a statewide school cell-phone ban into law. It’s already the practice in District 186 and other Illinois schools.
