Lincoln Developmental Center

{{Short description|Defunct school in Illinois, United States}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox historic site

| name = Lincoln Developmental Center

| other_name = {{Plainlist|

• Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children
• Lincoln State School
• Lincoln State School and Colony}}

| image = US-IL(1891) p209 LINCOLN, STATE ASYLUM FOR FEEBLE-MINDED CHILDREN.jpg

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| caption = Illustration, 1891

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| type = State school

| location = Lincoln, Illinois

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| founded = 1877

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The Lincoln Developmental Center was a state school for people with developmental disabilities in Lincoln, Illinois. It was founded in 1877 as the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children, became the Lincoln State School in 1954, and adopted its final name in 1975. It was closed in 2002 by Gov. George Ryan after reports of abuse, neglect and preventable deaths.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lincolncourier.com/news/20160818/historical-society-looks-back-at-lincoln-state-school-with-collection-of-ldc-artifacts|title = Historical Society looks back at the Lincoln State School with collection of LDC artifacts}}{{Cite web |last=Lowe |first=Kenneth |date=2012-08-26 |title=Behind Closed Doors: Lincoln, 10 years after LDC closure |url=https://herald-review.com/news/local/behind-closed-doors-lincoln-10-years-after-ldc-closure/article_b31e70ce-9049-5ce4-b7b2-2aa98d973d88.html |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=Herald-Review.com |language=en}}

According to historian David Bakke, "conditions at the Lincoln State School were horrible; overcrowded and understaffed. It was a community unto itself. The deaths of residents were not investigated, and their bodies were buried on the grounds".{{Cite web |last=Bakke |first=Dave |date=2016-02-04 |title=Old Lincoln state mental facility still causes grief |url=https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/2016/02/05/dave-bakke-old-lincoln-state/32567745007/ |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=The State Journal-Register |language=en-US}} According to Edwin Black, author of War Against the Weak,{{cite book | isbn=978-0914153290 | title=War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race | last1=Black | first1=Edwin | year=2012 }} milk from cows diseased with tuberculosis were willingly fed to the patient/residents, frequently resulting in infection.