DeKalb Times

Rep. Jeff Keicher recently took Gov. J.B. Pritzker to task about dysfunction in Illinois government.

"The governor still refuses to accept responsibility for the dysfunction and failures caused by his excessive use of executive orders. Checks and balances need to be restored to ensure our state is operating efficiently and in the best interest of the Illinoisans we represent," Keicher said in a Facebook post.

Keicher was first elected to the Illinois House in 2018. A Republican, his legislative experience includes serving on the Appropriations-Higher Education and Immigration & Human Rights Committee. Keicher is a state representative who resides in DeKalb, according to the Illinois House.

In his Facebook post, Keicher shared a link to a State Journal-Review article focusing on Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace Hou. Hou has been ordered to appear in Sangamon County Circuit Court on Friday to answer charges that the agency ignored an order to place 38-year-old Christopher Hall in the Andrew McFarland Mental Health Center for psychiatric treatment. 

Hall, who had been charged last year on four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, being an armed habitual offender and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon in the shooting death of Hason Willis, 43, of Springfield, was ruled unfit to stand trial in May and ordered to be placed at McFarland.

According to WCIA, Hall was arrested on Oct. 6, 2021, after the shooting of Willis. Investigation of the incident that led to Willis' death revealed that detectives discovered an altercation had taken place at the same place the previous night. In that first incident, the suspect, determined to be Hall, had brandished a gun and threatened people.

This is not the first time the Illinois Department of Human Services has been held in contempt. On June 30, the State Journal-Register reported that DHS was guilty of indirect civil contempt of court for failing to follow an April 7 order that required it to transfer a Sangamon County Jail prisoner to the Andrew McFarland Mental Health Center for psychiatric evaluation. The inmate, from Springfield, had been scheduled to arrive at the facility Monday. However, the ruling said DHS blocked the transfer.