By Eric Stock

SPRINGFIELD – The head of the Illinois Department of Corrections said training for corrections officers to handle mentally ill inmates will continue even after a prison fight last month raised safety concerns among some officers.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Baldwin on WJBC.

“We need to train our staff to understand the way you deal with a mentally ill offender and a seriously mentally ill offender and other types of offenders,” DOC director John Baldwin said. “You have to have different skill sets.”

Baldwin told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin merely segregating the mentally ill can’t legally be done.

“Your mental illness should not dictate where you go,” Baldwin said. “Your actions, your behavior, your assessed needs should dictate where you go and that’s what we are moving (toward).”

Some corrections officers have said new training to handle mentally ill inmates has brought a culture change that’s actually made them less safe.

Six officers were injured in a large fight with inmates at Pontiac’s maximum security prison last month. Baldwin said five of the officers have since returned to work.

The mental health training stems from a federal lawsuit settlement reached in January.

Baldwin said close to 20 percent of Illinois’ 43,000 inmates have mental illness, while about 9 percent have severe mental illness.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].