Fix for Legionnaires’ at Quincy Veterans Home Could Cost $278 Million
An early report on putting an end to the Legionnaires’ disease crisis at a veteran’s home in Quincy, Illinois recommends building a new facility and other improvements that could cost up to $278 million. Legionnaires’ contributed to the death of 13 residents at the home and made dozens more sick since 2015. The report says that new construction, replacement plumbing and a new water source is the best course of action for combating the disease. Previous estimates from the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs ranged between $25 million and $500 million to fix the facility, and last week Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration estimated repairs to the home could cost $265 million. Rauner’s opponent in the November general election, billionaire JB Pritzker, called the governor’s handling of the crisis “fatal mismanagement.” “While Bruce Rauner allows costs to skyrocket and pushes back timelines to fix the Quincy Veterans’ Home, the wellbeing of our nation’s heroes remains at risk,” said Pritzker campaign spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh. “This failed governor should have given the Legionnaires’ crisis his full attention from day one, but three years later and after 13 Veterans and spouses died on his watch, Rauner is still failing to address the issue.” (Associated Press) (WCIA)