Leaders on Chicago's South Side are urging the state of Illinois to buy Mercy Hospital & Medical Center temporarily, according to CBS Chicago.
Mercy Hospital & Medical Center's owner, Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, secured a nonbinding agreement in early March to sell the Chicago safety net hospital to Insight Chicago, a nonprofit affiliated with a Flint, Mich.-based biomedical technology company.
Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, which filed for bankruptcy Feb. 10, is slated to close its doors May 31 without a deal.
The sale to Insight Chicago for $1 is subject to regulatory approval, but if it goes through, it would keep the 170-year-old safety-net hospital open.
However, Chicago Alderman Sophia King is urging the state to step in and purchase the hospital to give the community and state more time to evaluate the best path forward for the South Side hospital.
"We're here today to call on the governor and others to help provide the best path forward for Mercy. Not the most expedient, but the best path forward," Ms. King said. "We are proposing that the state purchase Mercy Hospital for a dollar, temporarily, including the real estate Mercy sits on."
Ms. King and other South Side leaders want Mercy Hospital to remain a full-service facility, are seeking transparency into the sale process and want the community to have representation on the Mercy Hospital board. They are also calling on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to conduct an assessment to ensure the sustainability of Mercy Hospital.
Ann Spillane, Mr. Pritzker's general counsel, said the state cannot make the purchase even on a temporary basis.
"Even if the bankruptcy court would allow the transfer to the state, the state likely does not have the capacity to take over the complete management and operations of the hospital while a search continues for additional prospective purchasers," Ms. Spillane said in documents obtained by CBS Chicago.