Mussman Urges Full Review of Mismanagement at Quincy Veterans’ Home

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Following multiple outbreaks of Legionnaire’s disease that claimed the lives of 13 residents of the state-run Quincy Veterans’ Home over the past two years, state Rep. Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg, is supporting legislation urging Gov. Rauner’s administration to provide answers to the General Assembly that could explain the facility’s handling of the outbreaks.

“There are no excuses for this level of mismanagement and lack of oversight in taking care of our veterans,” said Mussman. “The military families who were kept in the dark by this administration are, at the very least, owed the truth as to why their loved ones weren’t even tested for the symptoms they displayed until it was too late.”

The Mussman-backed House Resolution 726 asks the Director of Public Health, Director of Veterans Affairs and the Rauner administration to provide a detailed report to the General Assembly that indicates when they knew about the outbreaks, as well as what steps they took to address them. Since the first reported case of Legionnaire’s disease at the Quincy Veterans’ Home in the summer of 2015, 13 residents have died, while another 61 residents and staff have contracted the disease. The report must also include a detailed proposal on how to contain the spread of and end the outbreaks of Legionnaire’s disease at the facility.

“Our veterans made great sacrifices for our country,” said Mussman. “We need to focus our attention on taking the proper steps to prevent something like this from happening again, for the sake of our veterans and their loved ones.”