SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — State officials say the closure of a southern Illinois center for people with developmental disabilities will be a “long process.”

Illinois Department of Human Services spokeswoman Januari Smith tells the Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers (http://bit.ly/1plOZW4 ) that there is no timetable to close the Warren Murray Developmental Center in Centralia. Smith calls it a “long process” and says the department is talking with parents “about all the living options that are available.”

Last week a federal judge ruled that the state has the authority to close the center. Parents of children that the center serves wanted to stop the closure. But the judge ruled the parents didn’t prove the closure would cause them irreparable harm.

The state wants to close the facility to save money and have community-based care.

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