CLINTON COUNTY, Ill. — A back up at Illinois mental health facilities is keeping some patients behind bars instead of in treatment.

Susan Potthast has spent the past three years visiting her son in an Illinois state mental health facility. Each trip to Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center ends the same way.

“Every four weeks, I set up a visit. I drive to Choate. I visit him. And every four weeks I cry on the way home that he’s even in there to start with,” Potthast said.

Potthast’s son, whose name is being withheld to protect his privacy, has autism, impulse control disorder and the intellectual capacity of an eight-year-old. In 2022, he was charged with sexual abuse.

“When he got here, we were told that he was roughly a 32-year-old gentleman, but he had the intellect of a child roughly six to eight [years old],” Clinton County Sheriff Dan Travous said. “At that point he was in diapers.”

A judge remanded him to custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) for care at a state mental health facility. But earlier this month, he was returned to the Clinton County Jail for new court proceedings.

“In my 28-year career, this is probably the worst I’ve felt as being an officer, deputy and now as the sheriff,” Travous said.

Sheriff Travous kept the man in solitary confinement for several days due to his special needs. Potthast said keeping her son out of the general jail population is necessary for his safety.

“If he’s just in a regular population of a jail, it’s like his attorney told me, and she’s right, he’d be a victim every day,” she said.

Growing Crisis in Illinois Jails

Sheriff Travous said the case highlights a growing problem across the state. Local jails are increasingly housing mentally ill individuals who have been found unfit for trial.

“We had one who was drinking out of a toilet and thought he was Jesus Christ,” Travous said. “What are we supposed to do? We’re not trained for that."

FOX 2 News has reviewed court records that show several other examples in Clinton County. One man was declared unfit for trial on July 2 and remains in jail. Earlier this month, a judge ordered the Illinois DHS secretary to appear in court to explain why the department has not complied with a directive to place the man in a treatment facility.

Another inmate booked last September and declared unfit was not released until March, after a judge issued a similar order.

State Response

Clinton County officials have pleaded for help. Sheriff Travous sent a letter to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers outlining the crisis.

"As good as our correctional officers are, they are not trained to handle somebody of that mental capacity being in a jail and frankly, they shouldn't be in a jail. That's the last place they should be," Sheriff Travous said.

State Rep. Charlie Meier said he has been trying to address the issue for years.

“This is a free pass for the state of Illinois,” Meier said. “They’re sitting in a jail here. They’re not having to pay the cost of taking care of them in a facility where they’re supposed to be. We’re spending that money on other things when we should’ve been spending it on taking care of our most vulnerable.”

IDHS said in a written statement that it “takes its responsibility to restore individuals to fitness seriously.”

The agency cited limited bed availability and an increase in referrals, noting referrals rose from 640 in 2020 to 1,154 in 2024. The statement says that it places referrals as soon as beds become available.

A state audit from December highlights another potential problem. It found that 70% of state-operated facility employees had overtime, largely due to short-staffing. The report warns that excessive amount of overtime can have a detrimental effect on the care provided to residents and patients.

A Mother’s Plea

Potthast’s son returned to a state hospital this week. But she believes it would not have happened if Meier and Travous did not step up. She now speaks out on behalf of other families whose loved ones could be left waiting for months.

“I hope another parent doesn’t have to go through this because it alters who you are,” she said. “It takes half your heart away.”