Sen. Thomas Cullerton (D-Villa Park) | Photo Courtesy of Thomas Cullerton's website
Sen. Thomas Cullerton (D-Villa Park) | Photo Courtesy of Thomas Cullerton's website
A state senator wants legislative hearings about a report from the state watchdog examining the handling of the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans' Home that left dozens of veterans dead.
The Illinois Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General's 50-page report released April 26 report specifically blamed leadership failures for the deaths of 36 residents at the veterans' home from COVID-19. It cited former Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Linda Chapa LaVia.
With the report now out, Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) believes legislators need to discuss preventative measures going forward.
"The OIG report on the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home will give me, my colleagues and our veterans’ families an opportunity to seek understanding of what occurred and offer clarity on what can be done to prevent this situation in the future," Cullerton said in an April 30 Facebook post.
From October to December, more than 200 staff and patients at LaSalle Veterans' Home contracted the coronavirus, resulting in 36 deaths of clients. Numerous government agencies have held hearings since in an attempt to determine what problems occurred. These include the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
In the wake of the outbreak and deaths, IDVA Chapa LaVia resigned. Terry Prince replaced her as acting director. Prince served in the Navy for 31 years and was the superintendent of Ohio Veterans' Homes.
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