Davidsmeyer urges Illinois to move on Jacksonville Developmental Center site

Morgan County’s long-running question over the Jacksonville Developmental Center grounds is back to the same test: whether Illinois will actually spend the money it says is there. State Rep. CD Davidsmeyer is pressing the state to move ahead, arguing that the redevelopment dollars tied to the abandoned campus remain in the budget and should be used before the site slips further into decline.

The stakes are hard to miss in Jacksonville. The former state facility, which opened in 1851 as Illinois’ first mental hospital, closed in November 2012 after Gov. Pat Quinn’s closure plan moved the last residents out in late November of that year. The grounds were still state-owned at the time and covered 134 acres, leaving a large block of prime city land idle in the middle of Morgan County for more than a decade.

The current redevelopment push runs through Illinois’ Surplus to Success program, which sets aside $300 million for the Illinois Department of Central Management Services to prepare selected state-owned properties for redevelopment. Jacksonville Developmental Center is one of five sites named in the current procurement notice, along with the former facilities in Dwight, Lincoln, Singer Mental Health Center and Shapiro Developmental Center.

The Illinois Capital Development Board procurement notice lists an overall project budget of $300,000,000 for demolition, environmental abatement and site preparation. That means the money is not just a promise on paper. It has already been placed into the state’s redevelopment pipeline, with the next steps tied to contracts, permitting and the state agencies responsible for carrying out the work.

Historic preservation has also become part of the file. On March 11, 2025, the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office determined that Jacksonville Developmental Center is an eligible historic district for the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A and C. The review memo says the undertaking will have an adverse effect on the eligible properties, and no public comments were received during the December 16 to 22, 2025 notice period. CMS also anticipated filing future permit applications on December 16, 2025 for Jacksonville and the other Surplus to Success sites.

For Morgan County, the consequences are straightforward. If the state follows through, Jacksonville could finally start shedding one of its most visible symbols of abandonment and open the door to reuse of a sprawling site with history, infrastructure and location value. If the project stalls again, the city is left with another round of deferred promises, a deteriorating state-owned property and no clear timetable for getting the land back into productive use.