Illinois Valley Times

GOP gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan is asking voters to consider Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s record at the LaSalle Veterans' Home where 36 died. 

“What happened at LaSalle was a shameful tragedy," Sullivan said in a press release. "When our heroes cried out for help, they were met with deafening silence from the Pritzker administration. Thirty-six veterans died as a result. Illinois veterans deserve better. The families who lost loved ones deserve better.” 

Sullivan's remarks came after the release of an auditor general review of the COVID-19 outbreak in LaSalle Veterans' Home pointing to the "gross negligence" and "incompetence" of the governor's administration.

“Four years ago, J.B. Pritzker called the 13 deaths at the Quincy Veterans' Home from Legionnaires’ disease a ‘shameful neglect of our veterans’ and an ‘unconscionable moral failing.’ ‘[T]his is incompetence,’ Pritzker said. ‘This is gross mismanagement.’ Attorney General Lisa Madigan quickly launched a criminal probe into the Rauner administration. J.B. Pritzker needs to be held accountable for his failures, and to take responsibility for the lives lost and the damage done. Time and time again, Pritzker has blamed others. He scapegoated IDVA Chief of Staff Tony Kolbeck for not disclosing the severity of the outbreak, but now we are learning that it was IDPH that didn’t act. The bottom line is that by his own definition four years ago, Pritzker is unfit to serve as governor.”

Sullivan remarked that the auditor general's report "detailed a complete and inexcusable failure" to keep veterans safe.

"As governor, I will always stand up for our veterans, and ensure they receive the highest quality of care,” Sullivan said.

The deaths of 36 veterans at the Illinois Veterans' Home in LaSalle have been blamed in part on Gov. J.B. Priztker. Former Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike was grilled by Republican members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee in a hearing in 2021, the Dupage Policy Journal reported. The hearings were called after Republican leaders lambasted the Pritzker administration's handling of the outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans' Home. Following the deaths, the prior director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Linda Chapa LaVia, resigned.

Some of LaSalle's blunders were comparable to those that led to a Legionnaires' disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans' Home. A report produced in April 2021 noted many shortcomings to follow protocols or take necessary safeguards as having a negative impact on the outbreak, Dupage Policy Journal reported.

According to Republican legislators, the deaths occurred under Pritzker and the team he assembled to prevent similar tragedies. When news of the deaths broke, it also highlighted the team's evident flaws, according to Quincy Reporter.