State senators held a hearing on Thursday, November 5, 2009 in Chicago to examine ways to improve safety at nursing homes, where a high number of felons with mental illness has led to reports of assaults, rape and even murder.
Legislators will hear testimony from experts, government officials and the public in considering "what laws we can strengthen and what laws we can enforce better," as well as more sweeping measures that could reverse Illinois' reliance on nursing homes to house younger adults with mental illness and criminal records, said Ron Holmes, a spokesman for the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Holmes added that state lawmakers "are definitely trying to work together as much as we can" with Gov. Pat Quinn's newly formed Nursing Home Safety Task Force. Holmes said he expects legislation to flow from the collaboration.
"There will be bills out there," he said.
One scheduled participant, Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, noted that her North Side district has among the highest concentrations of mentally ill nursing-home residents in the state.
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