Abuse was caught on camera at Choate Developmental Center. The prosecutor offered plea deals

Union County State’s Attorney Tyler Tripp cut a deal with a worker caught on tape beating a resident, allowing the worker to walk free — seven weeks before he filed a federal lawsuit to stop the removal of people with developmental disabilities from a state-operated facility in southern Illinois.

After numerous news reports of residents being whipped, beaten, neglected and abused at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center, Gov. JB Pritzker announced a plan in March 2023 to improve residents’ safety. It included installing 75 surveillance cameras and increasing security staff and management presence in resident living areas, but he also warned that Choate’s future depended on correcting these safety conditions.

Then, less than a year later, a camera caught worker John Curtis Spaulding repeatedly hitting a man who had developmental disabilities. No one reported the assault for days — evidence of a continued code of silence at Choate.

Spaulding was indicted in February 2024 on an aggravated battery charge — a felony punishable by two-to-five years in prison.

Then, it happened again.

Another Choate worker, Joseph Clark, was caught on camera abusing a patient and charged with a felony in May 2024.

But despite the videotape evidence in both cases, Spaulding and Clark would join dozens of past Choate employees accused of misconduct and be given the opportunity to enter guilty pleas to misdemeanors in deals that included no jail time.

Capitol News Illinois, ProPublica and Lee Enterprises released an investigative reporting series in 2022 that uncovered abuse and a culture of cover-ups at the state-run facility.

The series found that at least 26 employees were charged with felonies related to the treatment of Choate residents. Despite the dozens of felony arrests and indictments over the years, none of the workers served prison time, with many cases resulting in dismissed charges, probation, or reduced misdemeanor pleas.

Pritzker announces cuts

Three days after Spaulding entered his plea more than two years later, in late July 2026, the Pritzker administration announced cuts at Choate, phasing out services to the general intellectual and developmental disabilities population, currently at 15, by the end of September 2026 and all 75 civil mental health beds by March 2027.

The elimination of services for developmentally disabled and mentally ill residents will result in the loss of 250 of the existing 500 jobs at Choate. This has spurred litigation both from Tripp and the union that represents Choate workers.

“I said this a couple of years ago, that if we couldn’t resolve some of the challenges there, that the only option that we really would have is to stand down on that facility,” Pritzker said when asked about the cuts at Choate in late August.  He added the state would “make sure that the people who are working there are able to work elsewhere and the folks who are living there get the options that they want.”

An advocate said she wasn’t surprised at the closure of the general developmental disability units. Stacey Aschemann, vice president of Equip for Equality’s independent monitoring unit, said the governor invested money for infrastructure, studies to improve patient safety and a new management team to change Choate’s course, but in the end, it proved too much.

“Despite committing resources to help effect change since that time, there have been ongoing problems with individuals receiving quality care and their safety from abuse and neglect. The facility’s culture is ingrained and shown itself to be very resistant to meaningful change,” Aschemann said in an email.

Tripp filed the lawsuit on Sept. 8 on behalf of himself, Union County Sheriff David Wilkins and Justin Emrick, the guardian of a Choate resident with developmental disabilities who lives in Union County, against the Illinois Department of Human Services, the agency that operates Choate, and IDHS officials.

The lawsuit claims IDHS did not follow the laws that govern closures of hospitals and requested a judge issue a temporary restraining order to stop IDHS from eliminating 75 mental health beds and the 15 beds designated for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Tripp did not respond to requests for comment.

Before the three-year transition plan went into effect, the developmental disability population at Choate was around 250, but under the plan, residents have been gradually moved out to community placements or other state-operated developmental centers, such as Murray Developmental Center in Centralia.

Last week, IDHS confirmed plans to extend the phase-down of the civil mental health beds from March 2027 to June 2027 to allow time to expand services to other parts of the state.

Choate will continue to house the forensic unit — a specialized 40-bed secure program that provides court-ordered treatment for individuals with developmental disabilities involved in the criminal justice system.

Details of the assault

The beating in the Spaulding case happened on Feb. 12, 2024 — more than a year after the investigative series by Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica ran. It occurred at the lower level of the Cypress Unit that housed people with developmental disabilities.

Though allegations of abuse or neglect must be reported to the IDHS Office of the Inspector General — the entity that investigates abuse allegations for IDHS — within four hours of learning of the incident, the attack went unreported for days.

Spaulding, who could not be reached for comment, resigned three days after the allegation came to light.

A review of Illinois State Police and IDHS OIG investigative reports obtained by Capitol News Illinois under the Freedom of Information Act showed that after receiving the report in an anonymous note four days after the assault, OIG investigators then requested the video. Choate security reviewed the footage a week later, according to reports.

After looking at the video, investigators identified the victim, who corroborated the assault.

During an interview with investigators, the unidentified victim said he was frustrated because he wanted his radio to listen to music to calm down.

The victim, who has been at Choate for three years, said Spaulding “hates” him and calls him an “a–hole.” The day of the incident, he brushed up against Spaulding in the foyer and Spaulding “got in my face and he hit me,” according to one report.

The victim told Illinois State Police investigators that Spaulding hit him twice in the face, picked him up and slammed him on the ground, then kneeled on his neck.

The victim received medical treatment, including X-rays, following the assault. Photographs of injuries were not included with the initial report to state police, a report noted.

One of the witnesses, a trainee, told Choate security that she saw Spaulding hit the resident six times. She also told security that there was at least one other worker who witnessed the assault.

“I was nervous about reporting it because it had now been after the time frame and was afraid that I might lose my job,” she told the investigator, according to reports. “I worked here once before and was terminated for reporting sexual harassment so I was afraid this would turn out the same way with people having seniority and me being a trainee to be targeted.”

Choate security did take pictures — 17 days after the assault. They showed no sign of injuries.

In a State Police report, the investigator noted that on the video the supervisor was standing “within feet” of Spaulding and the victim when the two were on the floor.

The supervising worker told police she saw Spaulding in a physical hold but did nothing. She told investigators that she stood by to “wait to see what she is supposed to do.”

She also told police that she assumed Spaulding would complete the required paperwork, and left work early to take her daughter to an appointment.

When asked by investigators why he didn’t complete the report, according to reports, Spaulding said, “Why tell on myself for something?”

The OIG had received at least five previous allegations involving Spaulding. Capitol News Illinois could not determine whether those allegations were found to be credible by the OIG.

He would later tell police about the February 2024 incident that he “used a greater amount of force than necessary” to control the situation.

Spaulding accepted the plea deal on July 20, 2026. As part of his plea agreement, Spaulding must participate in anger management and any recommended mental health treatment.

The Union County state’s attorney complied with a Freedom of Information Act request for the reports in this case but denied a specific request for the video, stating that it was a protected medical record, and that it would violate the privacy of those in the video.

IDHS declined to answer written questions but sent a statement in response.

“The State of Illinois does not tolerate abuse or neglect. IDHS does not comment on pending litigation or internal disciplinary matters,” according to the statement.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.