McLean County Times

State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) has been crying out for justice for the families of the 36 veterans who lost their lives during the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans' Home.

At a press conference she and other Republican lawmakers recently held outside the facility, Rezin argued that the tragedy could have been prevented. The Republican senator also questioned the details of the report that was released by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

“We would like to honor the veterans who are watching us from their rooms,” Rezin said before she started her speech. "The tragedy that happened in the building behind me never should have happened."

During a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing, she questioned Peter Neumer of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) regarding the outbreak and whether it could have been prevented and why the report had little mention of other agencies that she thought should have been investigated.

“Do you believe that if these recommendations had been in place, such as a timeline for an immediate onsite visit, that we would have slowed the spread of COVID throughout the entire LaSalle Veterans' Home?” she asked. “In your report, you mentioned the governor and the governor's office 13 times,” Rezin said to Neumer. “Only two that we have found seem to be substantive pieces of information … can you speak to why there are so few mentions between all of the departments that should have been coordinating throughout this outbreak?”

Neumer responded that the outcome could have been better if measures had been in place. He added that while the report made recommendations on when other departments should get involved, the investigation focused on the operation of the LaSalle facility itself.

The senator from Morris filed Senate Bill 1445 in response to the LaSalle Veterans Home outbreak, which she said "would require outbreak drills to ensure that the facility and staff are prepared to know what to do when an outbreak does occur. No longer will they have to say nobody seemed to know what to do."

Rezin also filed SB2252 “which would require the auditor general to conduct a truly independent investigation.”

“There’s still time for us to help ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.” Rezin said. “These bills would address many of the issues that were identified in this inspector general's report and also would fill in the blanks that were not covered in the report.”