South Central Reporter

The Illinois Auditor General issued a report on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's conduct during the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans' Home. 

Thirty-six veterans died from COVID-19 at the LaSalle Veterans' Home during the 2020 outbreak, CBS Chicago reported.

"Although the Illinois Department of Public Health officials were informed of the increasing positive cases almost on a daily basis, IDPH did not identify and respond to the seriousness of the outbreak," the auditor wrote, according to CBS News. "All but four residents who died were positive prior to the date of the IDPH site visit.”

U.S. Rep. Avery Bourne also commented on the matter.

"We need leadership in Illinois who will ensure that we correct these grave mistakes that happened and make sure that a tragedy like this does not happen again," Bourne said. "Gov. Pritzker and IDPH must be held accountable." 

Bourne attributed the loss of life to inaction from Priztker. 

"What occurred at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home is truly a tragedy, but what's more difficult to swallow is knowing what could have been done by the Pritzker administration had they acted faster to mitigate these heroes losing their lives," Bourne said. 

The audit implies that the facility was severely mismanaged during the peak of the pandemic.