(MCT) — When Gwendolyn Jones-Scott learned Gov. Pat Quinn wanted to close a state center for the developmentally disabled outside Springfield, she was terrified about what would happen to her son.

The family had spent years struggling to find care for Dony'a Scott, whose autism and other disabilities meant he was prone to lashing out, sometimes violently. The 24-year-old ended up at the Jacksonville Developmental Center, where staff put him on a strict behavior-modification plan, and Jones-Scott said her son soon seemed happy, sociable and at peace.