Illinois Valley Times

Sen. Sue Rezin has sponsored a bill to strengthen the future outbreak response of the state.

The pandemic has brought emergency response and investigation into the forefront of people's minds in Illinois, particularly in light of the deaths at the LaSalle Veterans Home. Rezin is working to ensure changes happen.

"How many reports must land on Gov. Pritzker's desk before he takes the safety of our veterans seriously?" Rezin said. "It took the Pritzker administration 11 days to arrive on-site in LaSalle, and it could still take the same number of days today. The governor's lax approach toward improving the state's outbreak response time and care for our veterans is not the type of leadership he pledged as a candidate."

Rezin has sponsored three bills, two of which are directly related to how organizations should prepare for outbreaks. Two of Rezin's bills address how Illinois prepares for and responds to outbreaks, while the third one strengthens the powers of the inspector general when conducting state investigations. Senate Bill 3170 creates a timeline for IDPH to conduct on-site visits in the event of an outbreak. Senate Bill 1471 requires state-run and state-licensed facilities to complete emergency preparedness drills. Senate Bill 3170 has been referred to the Senate Assignments Committee.

Senate Bill 1445 is meant to give the Office of the Legislative Inspector General more power when it comes to investigations. This bill allows the OIG to use subpoenas to get information.

Family members of those who died in the LaSalle facility outbreak are still asking for answers, and more than two dozen of those families have filed lawsuits against the State of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Veterans and the facility itself.