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LaSalle investigation prompts legislation strengthening inspectors general
Posted May 11, 2021 11:34 AM
SPRINGFIELD Lawmakers representing the LaSalle Veterans’ Home, including Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, unveiled new legislation that would allow inspectors general of state agencies to subpoena former state employees.The legislation was prompted by an investigation into the COVID-19 outbreak last year at the LaSalle home that killed 36 veterans.The former director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Linda Chapa LaVia, and the former LaSalle home administrator, Angela Mehlbrech, both declined to be interviewed …
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Originally published on May 11, 2021 9:29 pm
As a panel of state lawmakers prepares to grill members of Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration over how a COVID-19 outbreak at a state-run veterans’ home grew so massive it killed more than a quarter of the facility’s residents in the fall, Republicans in the Illinois House on Tuesday sent Attorney General Kwame Raoul a letter urging his office to open a criminal investigation into the matter.
The hearings and letter come on the heels of a damning report published by Pritzker’s office April 30, which places blame for the deadly viral outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home on a variety of factors, including lack of preparation, absentee leadership, lax COVID protocols and poor communication not just within the facility, but at the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
SPRINGFIELD â Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday that Illinois will enter the âbridgeâ phase to full reopening on Friday, May 14. And barring any reversal of current trends, Phase 5, or full reopening, will begin June 11.
He also announced that residents can now obtain COVID-19 vaccines from their physiciansâ offices, rather than just designated vaccine sites, as public health officials continue to confront hesitancy within many communities to accept the vaccines.
Thursdayâs announcement came as the state reached a new benchmark of having 55% of adults age 16 and over, and 80% of people age 65 and over, having received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Meanwhile, the daily number of new cases, hospitalization rates and intensive care unit usage have all been falling or leveling off.
Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com
May 5, 2021 | 3:14 PM
(The Center Square) – Ensuring department directors are qualified to lead a state department is one area some Republicans and Democrats say should be a focus in the aftermath of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home COVID-19 outbreak.
Members of both parties also agree on the need for more hearings into the matter. Just how soon hearings should happen is where there’s a difference.
Last fall’s deadly COVID-19 outbreak in LaSalle killed 36 residents. In total, 109 veterans and 116 employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Veterans Affairs committee chair, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, said she plans another hearing about the inspector general report released Friday covering the state’s mishandling of the outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home.