$15M Tinley Mental Health Center Funding Found In Blue Island

TINLEY PARK, IL — The missing $15 million slated for the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center property had many scratching their heads, but Tinley Park officials told Patch they received confirmation the funds have actually been reallocated to the City of Blue Island.

The former mental health center property was not mentioned in the 2022 capital budget, even though the site was previously slated to receive $15 million in 2020 for cleanup efforts. The funds appeared to be missing from the budget, and state representatives were unable to figure out where they had gone.

That changed Monday when Tinley Park officials confirmed to Patch that the funds have in fact been reallocated to Blue Island. The $42 billion Illinois 2022 fiscal year budget includes a $15 million grant for costs associated for capital improvements for Blue Island.

In an email exchange between Tinley Park Village Manager David Niemeyer, and State Rep. Tim Ozinga in July, Ozinga said his research team was able to find that the funds were "re-appropriated to Blue Island within a House Democrat Article of the FY22 capital budget." Ozinga, who previously introduced legislation to sell the property to the village, recommended the village contact State Rep. Bob Rita, who oversees Blue Island and portions of Tinley Park, for further information and clarification.

Niemeyer told Patch he had reached out Rita's office regarding the reallocation, but had not heard back for weeks. Patch reached out to Rita's office Monday, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

"This is a slap in the face to the village and its residents," Niemeyer told Patch. "We were all hoping that when the bill was approved allocating $15 million towards clean up of the site, that the state was finally serious about cleaning up the property."

Assistant Village Manager Patrick Carr said he reached out to Senator Michael Hastings but has not had communication with him since mid-June. Patch has contacted Hastings' office numerous times in regard to the funds, but has yet to hear back.

"I’m extremely disappointed that Senator Hastings did not inform us of the reallocation of the $15 Million to Blue Island," Mayor Michael Glotz told Patch. "He will not return Pat Carr’s email either. Our Village Manager Dave Niemeyer has contacted State Representative Bob Rita. It’s very disappointing that he can’t take the time to call the Village Manager back."

Glotz went on to say, "If they can’t call the municipalities back they are supposed to represent, they should ask to not have them in their district anymore. They were elected to represent us, not ignore us."

The former mental health center property closed in 2012. It was the last of 13 state facilities of its kind built.

An inspection of the mental health center took place in early 2020, revealing numerous environmental concerns on site, such as asbestos and black mold. In May, a 2.1 million gallon water leak caused by a water main break poured into the Tinley Park sewer system and Midlothian Creek along Harlem Avenue. The village said the damages equate to $17,000 in water waste.

Two administrative hearings have been held regarding the property. The first hearing involved eight code violations at a cost of $750 each for poor sanitation, tall grass/weeds, dilapidated structures, failure to maintain the water system, accumulation of garbage, among others. Five additional violations were issued at a second hearing, also $750 each, according to Niemeyer.