why Axed Chicago mental health clinics may stay open?
Mayor Richard M. Daley intervened in a surprise move Tuesday to save four South Side mental health clinics serving 2,000 people from closing their doors. Daley revealed plans to halt the closings at a press conference at a point where leases for the facilities have already been cancelled. “The mayor is right to halt the closure of the city mental health centers. These closures pose real danger to the city’s public health safety net and put the well-being of many vulnerable individuals at risk,” said Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The closings had “been in motion for weeks,” said Tim Hadac, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Public Health. “Boxes [are] packed, furniture moved, leases cancelled, computer lines removed, staff reassigned, and most important, patients notified and counseled.” But he confirmed the decision to delay the closings. “If the Mayor said it, you can believe it,” Hadac said. A $2 billion hol
