Illinois Valley Times

State Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) is offering the families of the 36 veterans who died at the LaSalle Veterans' Home the one gesture he thinks they deserve most.

“I would first like to take a moment if I could to apologize to the families and the loved ones who have been impacted by this tragedy at the LaSalle homes,” Welter said at a press conference held outside the home to introduce legislation that would require the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Illinois Department of Public Health, upon being notified that an infectious disease outbreak has occurred, to immediately conduct an on-site visit to assess the status of the spread and determine if any additional actions can be taken to lessen exposure to the disease.

House Bill 4077 defines “immediately” as soon as is practical but no later than the end of the next business day.

Welter is also pushing for Gov. J.B. Pritzker to be more compassionate toward his constituents.

“It was unfortunate to see as the governor took questions last week and the report came about his administration’s failures that there was no remorse,” he said. “On behalf of the state I want to apologize. Sen. Rezin and myself have started to call for accountability. Many of us have received anonymous accounts. It’s important we get to the bottom of what transpired; who knew what.  House Resolution 62  calls for the auditor general to do a compliance report regarding the LaSalle Homes similar to what was done with the Quincy homes.”

Welter’s legislation is in direct response to the Pritzker administration’s failure to conduct an on-site visit for nearly 11 days after the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans' Home in November 2020 that led to the 36 deaths.

“There was time to implement these recommendations and it was not done,” he added. “That is inexcusable. We are trying to find solutions so this will never happen again and we continue to be met with resistance from the governor’s administration. It’s so vitally important that the auditor general, a truly independent body, conducts their review of what happened. Our goal is not to make this political but to ensure that we’re not standing in front of another veterans' home talking about another failure of this state.”