Madison County State’s Attorney reports ‘mental health crisis’ after spike in involuntary commitments
by Randy Pierce • Individuals experiencing serious mental illness who have been involuntarily committed to treatment facilities have increased substantially in Madison County, creating cause for concern regarding preventative measures and the related status of public safety.
At the most recent meeting of the Madison County Board, State’s Attorney Tom Haine spoke concerning the release of his department’s annual report for 2025 and, in doing so, touched upon many aspects of it, including what he referred to as “a mental health crisis going on around the country.”
A full page of that annual report devoted to this topic indicates that between 2020 and 2024, the average annual number of people subject to “involuntary commitments” because of experiencing significant problems with their mental health was 250 but, in 2025, this total climbed to 488, an increase of 95%.
The process concerning this matter involves Haine’s staff working within the court system to bring about such commitments, which he anticipates will rise again in 2026 as county hospitals expand their capacities for handling such patients.
The state’s attorney is charged by Illinois law to act within the legal system in civil commitment proceedings which occur for the purpose of determining if someone with severe mental illness should be involuntarily hospitalized and/or receive medication to treat his or her condition.
This can include making sure all the reports, petitions and court orders are properly prepared while still safeguarding the constitutional rights of those targeted in this process, including also working closely with mental health professionals, law enforcement representatives and the families involved.
“Every involuntary commitment case,” the annual report noted, “represents a person experiencing profound distress, confusion or crisis” while also affecting family members who are “overwhelmed, exhausted and searching for help.”
Each case also requires an understanding of the complex medical and legal issues that come into play. Terry Scudieri and Warren Benning are the assistant state’s attorneys assigned to the docket for such cases.
Earlier in March, Amber Donnelly, executive director of the Madison County Mental Health Board, made comments related to this issue, “We definitely have a disproportionate amount of individuals that are incarcerated with mental health.”
Speaking at a meeting of the county’s health department committee, Donnelly said many of these individuals, “when they get out (from being incarcerated), they are most likely to recidivate back into jail because if their mental health issues that caused them to go to jail in the first place” do not change, “It just becomes a cycle.”
Donnelly further stated she has learned from many sources that address mental health issues there is a lack of people who are pursuing professional careers in this field so she has been looking into encouraging high schools and colleges such as Lewis and Clark and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to create programs that will help generate more who are trained and qualified to get involved but funding for such efforts is a major concern.
