SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Citizens are taking the Sangamon County Mental Health Commission to task for refusing to move its meetings to after-dinner hours. The board Wednesday did agree to shift the start time back one hour: from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“It’s an absolute insult to all of us,” said Ken Pacha, adding the board’s three-minute time limit on public comment is an example of disrespect. “People work 9-to-5 on average in this town. It’s a state-run town. It’s a normal-job town. You are denying the community a voice, access, and resources. And if you don’t think that you are, then you are out of touch.”
Another citizen, Erin Fitzpatrick, suggested afternoon meetings are fine for “bankers and retirees.” She asked, “What is our priority, and who are we centering, by meeting at 4 p.m. on a weekday? Why not make these meetings as accessible as possible?”
Rev. Susan Phillips (pictured, left) found room for improvement elsewhere. “We are an hour and seventeen minutes into this meeting, and I have yet to hear the word racism, which is the reason we are here,” she said, referring to the fact that the board grew from the police killing of Sonya Massey, a Black Springfield woman who had mental health challenges. “I need you to name it every time you meet. I realize that this may be an ask that you are not comfortable with, but I am asking it anyway. If we had equity, you all would not need to exist.”
The board meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month.
