Illinois Valley Times

Supporters of the Veterans’ Accountability Unit say the agency is necessary to ensure veterans and other Illinois residents have access and answers to the services they might require.

House Bill 359, which became law in January, directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to appoint a director of the Veterans’ Accountability Unit to make sure the office is fully functioning in a proper manner.

Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Woodhull), who sponsored the bill, said a director for the VAU is needed to ensure regular office hours, establish a toll-free helpline and create an electronic email address to receive questions, information, recommendations, and complaints from veterans, families, vendors, and visitors. The legislation is in response to the lack of oversight that led to 36 COVID-related deaths at the La Salle Veterans Home, according to Swanson.

“One of the bigger problems discovered during the veterans' deaths was there was no senior home administrator, who actually worked for the director of the department of Veterans’ Affairs,” Swanson said while speaking on the “Have All Voted Who Wish” podcast. “They're the ones that oversee all of the veterans' homes to ensure they're all on the same standards, the same operating procedures throughout. A name went to the governor, the governor turned that person down. That would have been right prior to COVID, and it wasn't until just mid-November that a senior home administrator was hired.”

Swanson isn't the only legislator who has been asking for progress after the deaths at LaSalle Veterans Home. Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) filed HB4077 in May 2021 with Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa) that required the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Public Health “to conduct the site visit as soon as practical. In no event shall the visit be delayed later than the end of the next business day,” if an outbreak occurs. It took 11 days for an inspection of the LaSalle Veterans Home.

Swanson has continued to seek answers regarding the situation at LaSalle Veterans Home. 

“As both a veteran of the U.S. Army and National Guard, I know caring for our vets is one of the most important charges we have in our public service,” Swanson said at a press conference held by House Republicans that was posted to YouTube. “At the press conference we had last week, I explained to everyone following the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease we had at the Quincy Homes, I and others traveled to Quincy and talked about steps they were executing to contain the outbreak. In those conversations, we noted important steps and protocols to minimize future exposure for our veterans and staff and how to follow those procedures. We all realized adherence to these standards were a matter of life and death.”