Residents urge action on addiction services as county explains behavioral-health shutdown

Several residents urged Grundy County officials on July 8, 2025, to reconsider access to addiction treatment after the county's behavioral-health services were shut down.

Carol Walker, who said she has worked "in the mental health profession in this county for over 40 years," asked the board to revisit a rejected application by Dr. Sharma and to "vote your conscience, not your prejudices." Walker told the board she had sent a letter to the county and the Board of Health and urged commissioners to be "part of the healing community and not against it."

A second commenter, Corey Mattson, described personal experience with substance use and urged local leaders to expand services, telling the board, "I'm an alcoholic" and saying "this center sure seems like the answer." Those remarks came amid broader public concern about where people now receive care after the county-run behavioral-health division closed.

County leaders said the closure was not a decision of the county board but of the county Board of Health, which voluntarily shut down the behavioral-health division after the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) identified deficiencies. The chair explained the Board of Health administrator and the behavioral-health administrator reviewed the division and identified 11 deficiencies; the administrator asked IDPH for guidance and "IDPH told her, you cannot operate this way." The chair said the Board of Health elected to close the division rather than continue operating under the cited deficiencies.

Officials said stakeholders across county government and the court system moved quickly after the closure to keep existing patients served. The chair told the meeting that the county helped keep about 60 patients in town where feasible and worked to ensure patients did not incur additional out-of-pocket costs. County staff and outside providers have been identifying alternative providers and said 16 organizations have offered services to take clients from Grundy County.

Residents raised procedural questions about whether the county board could reconsider a prior vote on Dr. Sharma's application. The chair explained that, under Robert's Rules, a motion to reconsider must be made either the night of the vote or at the next subsequent meeting, and the opportunity in this case has expired because no board member who voted "no" moved to reconsider at the required time.

The board encouraged residents seeking more information to use the county website and said staff would provide a list of available behavioral-health resources before members of the public left the meeting.

The county provided no new vote or policy reversal on Dr. Sharma's application at the meeting; the chair said Dr. Sharma may reapply and must follow land-use and ZBA processes if he chooses to do so.