6 years, 2 months ago by Associated Press / Scott Hardy
State Sen. Tom Cullerton says joint hearing will be held; also wants correspondence
Illinois lawmakers will meet again next month in Springfield for a bipartisan hearing about the deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak at the Illinois Veterans' Home in Quincy.
State Senator Tom Cullerton said Monday that the joint House-Senate hearing will be February 7th at the state Capitol. The hearings have been called to examine the state's response to the disease that contributed to the deaths of 13 residents at the Vets Home since 2015 and sickened dozens more. The latest case of Legionnaires' was reported in November.
Cullerton says that before the February hearing, he wants to know more about the lead-up to the 2015 Legionnaires' outbreak. On Monday, Cullerton said he's asked for the release of any documentation of correspondence from key government agencies about the outbreak. In a statement, Cullerton says he's sent requests to Governor Bruce Rauner's office, the Illinois Departments of Public Health and Veterans Affairs, the CDC and the Vets Home, among others. Cullerton's letter is asking for any correspondence about the Vets Home between June 15, 2015, and January 12, 2018. Cullerton says that committee members left a Chicago hearing last week with "a lot of unanswered questions."
Rauner stayed at the home earlier this month for several days and announced that the state would replace the plumbing at the site.
