Senator Kyle McCarter issued a statement about the federal judge’s ruling on the Murray Developmental Center earlier this week.  “The parents and guardians of our most vulnerable citizens living at Murray have been tenacious and they have been justified in their fight to protect their loved ones.  The state of Illinois on the other hand has used our hard-earned tax dollars to fund its legal efforts to close Murray.  The Murray Parents Association fought against Governor Quinn’s poorly planned policies of closing downstate facilities, which originated with his budget address two years ago.  Let’s put the Governor’s actions in perspective.  At the same time he wanted to close Murray for budget concerns, he funded a hastily-created and poorly-run violence prevention program, the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative.  NRI, which after four years of criticism and questionable tactics, is now the target of a federal probe for its misuse of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.  Let’s assume government cares more about our most vulnerable citizens who are developmentally disabled and not able to live in community housing options but acknowledge that the costs to care for these individuals needs to be reduced because of budget pressures.  What do we do?  I believe the Governor should have sat down with the employees and service providers at Murray and agreed on a plan to reduce the costs.  A well thought out plan to privatize some services or even perhaps the institution itself could have protected the Murray residents, kept their families from relocating, and ensured the Centralia area economy would not have suffered.  It’s is disheartening to know that the tragedy of Murray Center’s closing was made worse by a clear failure to plan a responsible and compassionate solution.”