Tom Cullerton continues quest for answers on Legionnaires' Disease outbreak

• T.Cullerton
• Veterans
• Legionnaires' Disease

VILLA PARK- State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) continues to look for answers regarding an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy.

This week he requested the release of any documentation of correspondence from key government agencies pertaining to the outbreak.

“Committee members left the hearing with a lot of unanswered questions last week,” Cullerton said.  “There is a weakness within the current process; our hope is that additional examination will help guarantee our veterans are receiving the state’s best.”

Cullerton sent formal requests to the Office of Governor Bruce Rauner, Illinois Capital Development Board, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Illinois Office of Management and Budget, Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The sooner the bipartisan committee is able to examine protocol and procedures, the faster we can establish responsible and sound guidelines to better serve our nation’s heroes,” Cullerton said.

The letters specify the request is for “all electronic and paper communication records and documents between the dates of June 15, 2015, and Friday, Jan. 12, 2018, that contain information directly or indirectly related to or references to the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy.”

“We have a long way to go to guarantee our veterans live out their golden years in safe environment,” Cullerton said. “Let’s continue to work together in a bipartisan manner to ensure our heroes live in world-class living conditions.”

Here are the letters sent to the officials involved.