A settlement appears near for plaintiffs in an Illinois lawsuit seeking to give thousands of the state’s residents the option to move out of institutions and into group homes.

The suit filed four years ago alleges that the state of Illinois does too little to offer community-based living options to people with disabilities as guaranteed in the Supreme Court’s 1999 ruling in Olmstead v. LC and EW. Under that decision, the court said that states have an obligation to provide care for people with disabilities in a community setting, where medically possible.

A possible settlement in the case would force Illinois to begin prioritizing group home placements and evaluate institution residents annually for eligibility to move into the community.

However, that has families of some residents concerned. They say their loved ones are best cared for in institutions and they fear the settlement would divert funding from those facilities.

This week a judge heard from people on both sides of the suit. It is unclear when the judge will rule on the proposed settlement, reports The Chicago Tribune. To read more click here.

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