Chapa LaVia out as director of Illinois veterans affairs amid virus spread at facilities Linda Chapa LaVia
Updated 1/11/2021 4:33 PM
Amid criticism from veterans advocates and others over her handling of COVID-19 in state-run homes, Aurora resident and former state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia resigned Monday as director of Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.
Chapa LaVia offered no explanation for her decision, but it comes during an ongoing inquiry into the spread of the coronavirus at veterans facilities and calls for her to resign or be fired.
Among the leading concerns was an outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home in LaSalle, where dozens of veterans have died and hundreds of residents and staff members infected.
SPRINGFIELD â Illinois Department of Veteransâ Affairs Director Linda Chapa LaVia resigned Monday, more than two months after an outbreak was first reported at the LaSalle Veteransâ Home that has killed more than a quarter of the facilityâs residents.
Chapa LaVia is the second high-profile departure related to the outbreak at the LaSalle home in the aftermath of the deadly outbreak. LaSalle Veteransâ Home Administrator Angela Melbrech was fired on Dec. 7.
Chapa LaViaâs resignation came after a House Civil Judiciary committee hearing on Monday morning during which members questioned her handling of the outbreak at the LaSalle home, where 36 residents have died of COVID-19 since Nov. 1.
A total of 36 residents at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home have died since the fall from the coronavirus disease, placing a spotlight on how the facility handled health and safety protocols. Just hours after being grilled at a state legislative hearing on the matter Monday, the agency’s director, Linda Chapa LaVia, stepped down with an announcement made in a news release from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Administration. What we want to do is restore trust, the governor said later when speaking to reporters. He said he spoke with Chapa LaVia and her leaving the job was a mutual decision.
Tulane University has received a $1 million gift and an additional matching challenge grant of up to $1 million from the TAWANI Foundation, led by Colonel (IL) Jennifer N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired). The gift will establish the Audrey G. Ratner Excellence Endowed Fund for American Jewry and Jewish Culture in the School of Liberal Arts moving the Department of Jewish Studies significantly closer to its goal of creating a world-class hub of Jewish learning dedicated to the innovative and holistic study of American Jews.
Named in honor of the prominent Chicago philanthropist’s mother, the fund will support action-oriented programming, innovative student engagement activities and cutting-edge research, primarily through the Audrey G. Ratner Jewish Leadership Course and the Audrey G. Ratner Speaker Series. The fund will significantly grow American Jewish studies at Tulane and provide transformative opportunities to build forward-thinking leaders of the future.