Southern Illinois News

State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) is the latest Republican lawmaker to call for a criminal probe into the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home that left 36 dead.

“I want to echo the call Leader (Jim) Durkin (R-Burr Ridge) made last week asking for a criminal investigation,” Windhorst recently shared. “I believe the recent investigation and report made public by the inspector general details the administration’s response and lack of response to the COVID-19 outbreak at LaSalle and raises enough questions to trigger that investigation.”

Following the deaths, Veterans Affairs Director Linda Chapa LaVia was forced to step down from her post, but Windhorst insists that needs to be just the start to getting to the bottom of everything that happened.

“Our call for an investigation stems directly from the failure of leadership, management and oversight from the Pritzker administration,” he added. “An investigation by law enforcement needs to be initiated to find out if there are criminal liabilities that exist in the lack of preparation for and lack of adequate response and to answer the questions raised by the OIG report and many more questions like them.”

State Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Woodhull) is also among those seeking answers.

“As both a veteran of the U.S. Army and National Guard, I know caring for our vets is one of the most important charges we have in our public service,” he said at a recent press conference held by House Republicans that was posted to YouTube. “At the press conference we had last week, I explained to everyone following the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease we had at the Quincy Homes, I and others traveled to Quincy and talked about steps they were executing to contain the outbreak. In those conversations, we noted important steps and protocols to minimize future exposure for our veterans and staff and how to follow those procedures. We all realized adherence to these standards were a matter of life and death.”

Swanson recalled how then-gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker made the issue a central theme of his campaign platform.

“Certainly he understood the potency from a public relations perspective of having lost heroes at a home because proper protocols not (being) followed,” he said.