South Central Reporter

State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) thinks there’s plenty of blame to go around the tragedy at the LaSalle Veterans' Home that left 36 dead.

"What we have seen here is a wholesale failure all the way around,” Wilhour said. “From the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, IDPH and especially the governor. They literally failed to act to protect our most vulnerable people and dozens of veterans are dead.”

In the aftermath, Veterans Affairs Director Linda Chapa LaVia was forced to step down from her post but Wilhour insists many more also need to be held accountable.

“I’m completely disgusted and almost at a loss of words about this,” he added. “It’s disgusting. When we look back at the past year plus, it’s not real surprising. This administration has stubbornly and steadfastly refused to employ any kind of targeted protection strategy and people have died. These families deserve better."

State Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Woodhull) is also among those seeking answers and ready to assign more accountability.

“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.”