877. Northern Illinois Academy

In 2021 Northern Illinois Academy was closed down after the authorities took interest in the poor management the owner – Sequel Youth & Family Services had installed at the facility.

The management lacked putting in place proper supervision with their employees often hired to secure as much profit as possible over other considerations like qualification and interest in treating the children at the facility with the care they needed.

The lack of a proper management at the facility led to a number of incidents according to local media coverage including use of dangerous methods of restraint, criminal charges had been brought against an employee for choking a child, sexual relations between employee and patient, removing family pictures as punishment, increase in medication due to changing rules of use restraints instead of issuing medication based on the patients needs.

Overall it sounds like a bad place to be as a child.

Sources:

• State removes youths from Aurora residential facility after ‘troubling’ report cites improper treatment, use of physical restraints and minors frequently running away (The Chicago Tribune)
• Worker at juvenile mental health facility in Aurora gets 10 years for sex assault of child (The Chicago Tribune)
• State takes action against Aurora academy that serves children with disabilities (The Daily Herald)
• Youth Transferred From Aurora Facility Amidst Abuse Allegations (The Patch)