Illinois Valley Times

State Rep. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) believed a recent hearing questioning a COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home that killed at least 33 veterans was just a first step in getting to the bottom of things.

“The residents of the LaSalle Home, as well as their families, deserve answers about how this catastrophic outbreak happened, and they deserve them now,” Rezin said in a December Facebook post. “Today’s hearing was an important step in finding those answers, however, there are many questions that have yet to be answered. We need more hearings.”

After much prodding from a growing number of Republican lawmakers, legislators recently convened a hearing on the matter. However, many walked away with as many questions as they had going into the much-anticipated gathering. Over the last several weeks, dozens of other staffers and residents have also tested positive for the virus on top of the growing death count.

“As of today, this tragedy sits at over 200 cases and has cost the lives of 33 of our nation’s veterans,” Rezin said in the post. “What has happened at this veterans’ home is unacceptable. We have to determine how this happened and ensure that it does not happen again.”

Since the outbreak began, Department of Veterans’ Affairs officials have imposed several changes at the facility such as retraining for staffers on using masks, replacing its hand sanitizer, and improving employee screening for things like getting rapid COVID tests before their shifts.