The South Suburban Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, long a staple of addiction recovery care in the south suburbs, had its operating licenses revoked late last year, the Illinois Department of Human Services said.
In order to provide substance abuse treatment in Illinois, organizations must be licensed through the department’s division of behavioral health and recovery. All of the South Suburban Council’s licenses authorized by the department were rendered null and void as of Dec. 27, the department said.
The Department of Human Services did not provide details as to why the licenses were revoked.
The South Suburban Council did not respond to requests for comment, and a phone number listed on its website appeared to have been disconnected.
“Our services are undergoing improvements and are temporarily unavailable,” the council’s website read. “We understand this may create uncertainty, and we are committed to keeping you informed and supported through this transition.”
East Hazel Crest Mayor Thomas Brown said the council had not communicated at all with the village.
“Disappointed that they didn’t let us know they were just going to close their doors,” Brown said. “Don’t like to have vacant buildings in our village just sitting there, but I understand it’s up for sale.”
The building’s water bill has gone unpaid for months, Brown said, and there are liens against the property.
“They were doing some remodeling and rehab in there, and apparently didn’t pay the contractor its money, so that may be one of the reasons why they closed down,” Brown said. “No one’s ever explained it to us.”
Ujamaa Construction filed a mechanic’s lien against the council in November saying that it was owed $761,928 for work done on the property that it had only partially been paid for, according to documents from the Cook County recorder of deeds.
Ujamaa Construction did not respond to requests for comment.
Former South Suburban Council board member David Walano said the loss of the licenses represented a massive blow to the organization.
“This is a giant albatross, at this point,” Walano said. “We’re talking about the demise of a 67-year-old not-for-profit.”
The council was first established in 1967 operating out of the Red Cross Building in Harvey, according to its website, and initially operated as an informational and referral service before expanding into residential treatment. It moved East Hazel Crest in 1984.
Rich Township Clerk Arlene “Sugar” Al-Amin, the council’s former board president, said patients were transferred to other facilities in September.
“September was the last month that we officially served clients,” Al-Amin said. “We have sister and brother locations that we have relationships with, and that’s where we sent them.”
The facility had been serving between 40 and 100 clients at any given time, Al-Amin said.
“These people were comfortable there, and they had to be shipped far and wide, away from their family and friends, when all of this took place,” Al-Amin said.
Neither Walano nor Al-Amin are associated with the council anymore, they said.
The council is a 501(c)(3) that received funding from both public and private sources. It provided both residential and outpatient treatment services, as well as additional services including driving under the influence counseling, transitional housing and job placement, according to its IRS filings.
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“This facility provided services for us for the last 60-plus years in our Southland community,” Al-Amin said. “When you have people in your neighborhood who says, you helped my brother, you helped my mom, with addiction, and gambling — It was a very heartfelt journey that I had attached myself to.”
Cook County Commissioner Kisha McCaskill has written to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office asking that the circumstances of the closure be investigated.
“I just have a lot of concern with the way that the agency was closed under such urgency, and then to have those clients that were there removed. There was not a lot of transparency,” McCaskill said. “We’re already an underserved district.”
The state’s attorney’s office said it received McCaskill’s letter and is reviewing it to determine next steps.