State leaders are hoping the opening of a new veterans care facility in west-central Illinois will help turn the page on one of this century’s worst outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease.
In the summer of 2015, dozens of people living and working in the Illinois Veterans home in the city of Quincy started coming down with symptoms of the water-borne bacterial infection. Thirteen people later died.
The outbreak, and two more clusters at the same facility in the years since, made national news … and led the state to pay more than $6 million to settle wrongful-death claims from family members.
Today, state and local leaders cut the ribbon officially opening a new long-term care building housing 210 people – as well as 88 independent living apartments.
Quincy state House Republican Kyle Moore says the 300-million-dollar development is a tribute to bipartisanship.
"In today’s world, we see a lot of people in politics pointing fingers at one another, blaming one another, and trying to shout above the crowd," said Moore (99th District). "Today is not that day."
Governor J.B. Pritzker says preserving the Quincy home has been a priority since he took office, and also praised the bipartisan commitment needed to get it done.
“Frankly, I’d like more bipartisanship in the world,” said the governor. “This was literally the first project … that I committed to doing.”
The state’s capital improvement plan funded the $300 million project.
"This is a beautiful facility, and brand new," said the governor. "And frankly, we should be doing this in other parts of the state as we can.”