QUINCY – After the report of four more veterans being stricken with Legionnaires' disease in Quincy's Illinois Veterans Home, GOP gubernatorial challenger Jeanne Ives demanded at a press conference Wednesday.
"What the hell is wrong with this governor? Veterans and their families are getting sick and dying, Governor. Get them out of there, now!"
From an Ives campaign press release:
Since July 2015, 13 have died from Legionnaires' disease. Eleven families have sued the state for negligence.
In July 2016, Governor Rauner said his administration was "really on top" of the situation at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy.
After that pronouncement, three more people got sick. A Korean war veteran died.
Recently, after his January PR stunt of staying at the home, Rauner told the Crain's editorial board in response to a question as to whether he would've done anything differently in handling the crisis, “We handled it exceptionally well and we would not do anything different."
Since that pronouncement, four more people have gotten sick.
The Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), yesterday, reported the fourth laboratory-confirmed case of Legionnaires’ disease at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy (IVHQ).
“This is as uncomplicated as it is preventable and tragic. All the talk from politicians like Rauner about how much they value our veterans, about keeping our promises to our veterans, about respecting their service, about helping them when they're in need whatever they need…all that talk," Ives said.
“13 dead. And people keeping getting sick. And the governor who says he's not in charge is living down to that description.
“There's nothing left to say. On March 20, Illinois families will have their say.”
