As COVID-19 has now claimed the lives of 32 residents at the LaSalle Veterans' Home, State Senators Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) and Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) continue to push for answers about the tragic and ongoing outbreak.
Cullerton and Schimpf, who serve as Chairperson and Minority Spokesperson of the Illinois Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, recently convened a hearing of the committee to learn more about the outbreak. Unfortunately, the hearing left them left with many unanswered questions about the state's handling of the situation.
Yesterday, December 8th, they made an official request with Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) Director Linda Chapa LaVia for detailed documentation regarding the outbreak and how officials and employees responded.
"Immediate transparency and answers about what's happening at the LaSalle Veterans' Home must be provided before more lives are lost," Cullerton said. "We hope the clear-cut requests for information outlined in the letter will give the public and General Assembly a better understanding of what went wrong and how we can prevent something like this from happening again."
"We owe it to the veterans and their families to find out how this tragedy was allowed to happen. Unfortunately, the previous hearing left us all with more questions than answers," said Sen. Schimpf. "We need to find out more about who was making decisions, and at what levels, to determine where the breakdowns occurred that led to this terrible outcome."
During the recent committee hearing, the senators note that Director Chapa LaVia committed to absolute transparency as it pertains to the outbreak. Cullerton and Schimpf are grateful for that commitment and look forward to the administration's cooperation in providing the requested information.
