CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Some anguished mothers have given Illinois a lesson in what's wrong with the way court systems deal with people suffering from mental illnesses.
The State Supreme Court’s Mental Health Task Force hosted a discussion of people with mental illness and their experiences with the court system.
Judith Harris Ornstein is president of a foundation bearing the name of her late son Matthew who was unable to get the help he needed.
"Someone with a serious mental illness should never have to commit a crime in order to get the attention of the judicial system," she said.
Tonya Brown’s son, Tyree, was killed by Chicago Police earlier this year. She’d tried to get help for her mentally ill son as well.
"Tyree had been going more than a year between the ER and out-paitent, but it wasn't enough. There were times where I would take him to the mental health facility, but they wouldn't even keep him," she said.
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Brown said you can’t just dial 911 when someone like her mentally ill son Tyree is having a crisis. It's scary to call the police in Chicago, she said.
She and others said police need better training, and more treatment programs are needed.