Metro East Sun

Illinois state representative (R-Morrisonville) and candidate for lieutenant governor Avery Bourne is condemning Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) for failure to take action that led to dozens of deaths at a state-run veterans home in 2020.

A state audit found that during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, severe mismanagement at the LaSalle Veterans' Home led to the deaths of 36 veterans who died from COVID-19, CBS Chicago News reported. 

Bourne made her comments at a news conference and was joined by other Illinois state leaders and legislators.

"What occurred at the LaSalle Veterans' Home is truly a tragedy, but what's more difficult to swallow is knowing what could have been done by the Pritzker administration had they acted faster to mitigate these heroes losing their lives," Bourne said. "This report from the Illinois auditor general shows us that the Pritzker administration, they were getting regular updates as you have heard — nearly daily updates and they knew what was unfolding and yet did not respond timely. Despite knowing how it was escalating, it still took 11 days for someone from IDPH to show up at the home."

CBS reports that the audit found that the Illinois Department of Public Health was receiving updates on a daily basis, but that response was delayed. 

"Although the Illinois Department of Public Health officials were informed of the increasing positive cases almost on a daily basis, IDPH did not identify and respond to the seriousness of the outbreak," the auditor wrote, according to CBS News. "All but four residents who died were positive prior to the date of the IDPH site visit.”

Bourne said this new information is in stark contrast to "what we saw earlier with the sham report that was commissioned by the Pritzker administration."

"Let's remember, Gov. Pritzker when that sham commission came out with its report, he had absolutely no issue blaming the Department of Veterans Affairs and former director Chapa LaVia for the tragedy. But now we know the truth, that Gov. Pritzker and IDPH share equally the responsibility," she said. 

In response to the audit, Pritzker brought up the political environment surrounding the pandemic in 2020, CBS reported.

"Republicans told them that they need not wear masks," Pritzker said. "They told people that they didn't need to get vaccinated. They told people that COVID wasn't serious."

Bourne said Pritzker and IDPH need to be held accountable.

"The state of Illinois has already experienced a tragedy at a veterans home — the Quincy Veterans' Home," Bourne said. "An issue Gov. Pritzker campaigned, but his words during the campaign and his words during the pandemic did not match the actions of his administration when confronted with a tragedy at a veterans home. The men and women at the LaSalle Veterans' Home literally put their lives on the line to fight for us and the state let them down when it was our responsibility to take care of them. We need leadership in Illinois who will ensure that we correct these grave mistakes that happened and make sure that a tragedy like this does not happen again."

The director of the LaSalle Veterans' Home during the pandemic resigned under pressure following the outbreak, according to CBS News.