Jackson Brandhorst

ANNA, Ill. — Union leaders, lawmakers and political candidates gathered alongside dozens of employees from the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center on Tuesday to rally against the state’s plan to make dramatic cuts to staff and services at the downstate mental health facility.

The Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois will lay off staff and undergo several operational changes in the coming months, including the elimination of the state-run facility’s entire general residential program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.