“Illinoisans in the public and private sector deserve should be held equally accountable under the law. Unfortunately, for the past three years we have had a Governor who, by his own admission, is not in charge. And so, the same double standards apply, and the same toxic political culture is perpetuated.”
January 8, 2018 – Eleven families have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the State of Illinois over the deaths of their loved ones in the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy.
But in a peculiarity of Illinois law consistent with its reputation as the epicenter of Political Ruling Class domination, the recovery for the families of those who died in the Veterans home due to administrative wrongdoing is capped at $100,000.
According to a WBEZ report, that cap has been the same for the past 46 years. This stands in stark contrast to the unlimited legal exposure of private health care or nursing home facility would face had similar acts of alleged negligence occurred within their facilities. In effect, we have two systems of accountability and justice for Illinois families – one for those victimized by state-run institutions and another for those victimized by privately-run facilities.
“The caps on lawsuits against the state, allows the state to protect itself from any semblance of true accountability – even in cases where people die on its watch,” said State Representative Jeanne Ives, conservative reform candidate for Governor. “If a fatal bacterial outbreak had occurred in a private retirement home, and been allegedly covered up by administrators, there would have been no caps on the lawsuits. We currently have two systems of justice in Illinois: In the private sector, businesses and organizations face unlimited exposure to risk and litigation. In the public sector, bureaucrats and agencies are substantially protected from allegations of negligence or malfeasance through the cap on damages.
"Why should government employees be less accountable to those they serve than private sector workers? Illinoisans in the public and private sector deserve should be held equally accountable under the law. Unfortunately, for the past three years we have had a Governor who, by his own admission, is not in charge. And so, the same double standards apply, and the same toxic political culture is perpetuated.
"I hope my legislative colleagues take up this issue of unequal justice under the law during the testimony they offer this week on addressing the failures at the Illinois Veterans' Home in Quincy."
