VETERANS STAY
Taking a page out of former Mayor Jane Byrne’s playbook, Gov. Rauner checks into Illinois Veterans Home that’s under fire for Legionnaires’ outbreaks
Days after returning from a holiday break, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday night quietly checked himself into the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy — a home under fire amid outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease.
The governor, his office confirmed, plans to stay for several nights, with first lady Diana Rauner joining him for the weekend as a show of support for the home’s residents.
“He plans to spend several days there with the residents and staff,” Rauner spokeswoman Rachel Bold said. “He wants to gain a more thorough understanding of the clinical, water- treatment and residential operations of the home.”
It’s perhaps ripped from the Jane Byrne playbook. Byrne, the city’s first and only female mayor, moved into a Cabrini- Green apartment in 1981 as she faced a bevy of criticism over her administration’s policy toward public housing.
Byrne spent three weeks there — and not without controversy. During an Easter celebration on her last day there, she faced hundreds of protesters. “We need jobs, not eggs,” some protesters chanted.
In December, Rauner faced a backlash over the state’s response to a Legionnaires’ outbreak, which was outlined in a WBEZ report. It has also become campaign fodder for Rauner’s many gubernatorial opponents, with the primary just weeks away.
“I believe he arrived around 9: 30 p. m or 10 p. m.,” state Sen. Jil Tracy, R- Quincy, said on Thursday morning.
The governor, Tracy said, “wanted to show his support for the veterans home and for the safety of the residents.”
The confirmation of the governor’s visit led others to plan visits to the home as well. Sen. Dick Durbin plans to tour the facility and speak with reporters on Friday. And first lady Diana Rauner plans to join the governor at the home for the weekend, the governor’s office said.
The home is the site where 13 residents have died from Legionnaires’ disease since July 2015.
The state’s health department on Thursday released a report that offered further details about the latest outbreak. The report noted six confirmed cases between January and November 2017 but said the state immediately notified the CDC. After two cases in October, staff said there were inconsistent levels of disinfectant in a water main. The report also found temperatures conducive to growth of the bacteria. And the report notes it’s hard to completely eradicate the disease.
“Complete eradication of Legionella in any large, complex building water system may not be possible,” the report said.
“There is no safe level of Legionella in building water systems,” the report said.
While the stay shows Rauner’s commitment to the issue, it’s also a visit to an ultra- conservative community where Rauner will have to fend off state Rep. Jeanne Ives, RWheaton, in the March primary.
In the 2016 presidential election, nearly 72 percent of Adams County voters voted for Donald Trump.
Ives called the stay “a cynical and transparent publicity stunt” while characterizing the Rauner administration’s response as “betrayals of our veterans and the benefits they earned protecting our freedoms.”
State Sen. Tom Cullerton, chairman of the Senate’s Veteran Affairs Committee, downplayed the visit. The House and Senate plan to hold a joint hearing to address the Quincy deaths on Jan. 9.
“I don’t know exactly why he’s doing it and not really concerned that he’s doing it,” said Cullerton, DVilla Park. “I’m not worried about the two or three days the governor decided to go down and stay there.”
The Legionnaires’ outbreaks were highlighted in a WBEZ report last month. Rauner toured the Quincy facility in 2016 and said the state would carefully monitor the home’s water for bacteria.