Fate of Freeport nursing home comes down to legal review of referendum question

Stephenson County residents and leaders and residents and employees of the county's Walnut Acres nursing home are waiting for even more lawyers to weigh in on whether the home can be sold or closed.

The fate of Walnut Acres has been hotly debated for years. Now, some contend the debates were premature.

Some say the county doesn't have the authority to sell or close the nursing home since it was opened based on passed of a countywide voters' referendum. They say closing or selling the home would require another public question.

The Stephenson County Board has asked the United Counties Council of Illinois, a Springfield-based statewide association of county boards, for a legal opinion.

The counties council is reviewing Stephenson County State's Attorney Carl Larson's opinion that the nursing home can be sold or closed without a referendum.

More:Freeport's Walnut Acres nursing home survives chopping block once again

"We're at kind of at a standstill waiting on UCCI for their opinion," said county board member Bill Hadley, who is in favor of keeping the facility open and under ownership of the county.

Calls to UCCI and the group's legal counsel were not returned.

County Board Chairman Scott Helms, who is in favor of selling the facility, said Walnut acres is operating at a $1.2 million deficit.

"It's a failed model. There's a reason why there are only 16 or 17 county nursing homes in a state that has 102 counties," Helms said. "You can go back as far as the beginning of 2022 and find vendors that still haven't been paid."

Helms said the 120-bed home is two-thirds empty.

"You can't make a business work with just 44 residents," he said. "It's not possible."

Sara Dorner, president of Rockford United Labor AFL-CIO, believes the fate of the facility, which employs about 50 union employees, should rest with the voters.

"We think Carl Larson is wrong on this one," Dorner said, "and we hope that when he looks over all of the materials he will agree. We believe the United Counties Council of Illinois will agree, too.

"The statute language says that if a nursing home is erected via a referendum, it cannot be closed or sold without a referendum. ... The nursing home was clearly erected after an $800,000 bond referendum. That's what the voters voted on. So, it would only make sense that they would get to vote to close or sell the building."

Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen