LaSalle investigation prompts legislation strengthening inspectors general
By SARAH MANSUR
Capitol News Illinois
smansur@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD — Lawmakers representing the LaSalle Veterans’ Home, including Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, unveiled new legislation that would allow inspectors general of state agencies to subpoena former state employees.
The legislation was prompted by an investigation into the COVID-19 outbreak last year at the LaSalle home that killed 36 veterans.
The former director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Linda Chapa LaVia, and the former LaSalle home administrator, Angela Mehlbrech, both declined to be interviewed for the investigative report compiled last month by the state Department of Human Services’ inspector general.
Chapa LaVia, who resigned, and Mehlbrech, who was fired, left their respective positions in the aftermath of the deadly outbreak at LaSalle.
“How could the former director of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the head of the veterans home refuse to answer any questions about the outbreak that costs the lives of 36 veterans?” Rezin said Monday during a news conference at the LaSalle home. “When I asked that question, I was told the inspector general does not have the power to compel former directors and employees to testify. After learning this, I was outraged.”
Rezin said she filed Senate Bill 1445 in response to the decisions by Chapa LaVia and Mehlbrech to not cooperate with the investigation by the DHS’ inspector general.
The bill allows agency inspectors general to subpoena a former state employee in the course of an investigation undertaken to “correct a systemic issue, problem, or deficiency,” according to the bill.
It defines former employee as “a former agency director, senior administrator or any other individual who had the authority to implement policy action for the department, an agency under contract with the department or any facility or program operated for or licensed or funded by the department.”
The DHS inspector general’s report found that the home lacked infection prevention plans or policies before the pandemic hit in March 2020.
The report also found the home failed to maintain effective communication among staff, as well as failures to properly train and educate staff at the LaSalle home. In addition, the report found a repeated lack of compliance with personal protective equipment protocols.
Mehlbrech contributed to the ineffective communication and lack of training, according to the report, which noted she initially held brief meetings one to three times daily to inform the staff of the changing policies within the home.
But these meetings did not contain in-service training and they stopped entirely during the summer. In addition, the report states, Mehlbrech did not hold any meetings with nurses.
Mehlbrech was “rarely seen at the home and often remained in her office,” according to the report.
When Mehlbrech’s interim replacement, Anthony Vaughn, arrived, one staff member told him, “I’m glad you’re here, because I haven’t talked to Angela in six months,” according to the report.
Witnesses interviewed for the report described Chapa LaVia as “not a hands-on or engaged day-to-day Director.” They also said that her chief of staff, Tony Kolbeck, managed the agency and handled the day-to-day operations. Kolbeck has also since resigned from the department.
Chapa LaVia, who is a former state representative and an Illinois Army National Guard veteran, told investigators that she would consider sitting for an interview with the inspector general if she received questions in advance.
The inspector general’s team declined to provide Chapa LaVia with questions in advance, and she was not interviewed.
Gov. JB Pritzker, who appointed Chapa LaVia in 2019, said he hired her to lead the IDVA because of her role in investigating the deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the Quincy Veterans’ Home. But he admitted during a news conference on April 30 that if he knew then what he knows now, he would not have hired her.
Pritzker appointed Terry Prince as IDVA acting director on April 1.
In addition to SB 1445, Rezin has introduced a bill that would require facilities licensed and operated by the state to conduct outbreak preparedness drills, and a separate bill to require an IDPH onsite visit within one business day of an infectious outbreak at a veterans home.
Those bills would codify recommendations made in a 2019 audit of the Quincy Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that killed 13 veterans.
Rep. David Welter, a Morris Republican who also represents the LaSalle home, passed a House Resolution by a vote of 111-0 that calls on the Illinois Auditor General to conduct a separate investigation of the deadly LaSalle outbreak. The auditor general’s office also investigated state’s handling of the Quincy outbreak.
A representative from the auditor general’s office confirmed that the office plans to conduct an audit based on the request contained in Welter’s house resolution.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Sisters make Chicago Lawn a world destination
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . Earlier this month was the Fifth Lithuanian Documentary Film Festival, with distinguished guests from Lithuania and other parts of the United States visiting the neighborhood. They held a photo session in the editorial office of…
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, everyone
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . Yet another Mother’s Day is upon us. I wish everyone a happy day. By everyone I do mean everyone. There are a lot of dads who do it alone, along with important mother…
Mother’s Day is truly a day to be celebrated
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . Mother’s Day happens on Sunday, May 12. If this isn’t something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. Motherhood means new life, new beginnings, new possibilities. Even if you won’t be seeing your mom, you can still…
Saint Xavier men’s volleyball finishes historic season in nation’s top 4
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team made history by advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Championship. But the Cougars fell to eventual national champion Georgetown (Kentucky), 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10, on May 3 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Although there was…
St. Francis first baseman Nate Maliska earns conference POW honors
Spread the loveBy Mike Walsh Correspondent The University of St. Francis sophomore first baseman Nate Maliska was chosen the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Player of the Week in baseball for April 7. In helping the Saints to four wins that week, Maliska went 9-for-15 (.600) with eight RBI and seven runs scored. The St. Laurence…
Baseball | Marist claws way back to .500
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent This season has thus far not been what Marist had expected, but the RedHawks came into this week at .500. Marist was 2-8 after 10 games this season, with three of those first eight losses coming via shutout. But the RedHawks turned things around with a stretch of eight…
Red Stars fall to Spirit for third loss in past four matches
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent After enjoying one of their best starts in franchise history, the Chicago Red Stars have slid to the middle of the NWSL standings, with the latest setback being a 4-2 loss to Washington at SeatGeek Stadium. The Stars (3-3-1) entered this week having dropped three of their past four…
Red Stars take aim at NWSL attendance record with Wrigley game
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Red Stars are thinking big when it comes to their upcoming game at Wrigley Field. The team is taking aim at the NWSL record for single-game attendance when it hosts Bay FC at the historic home of the Chicago Cubs on June 8. The record is held…
Neighbors
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
Spread the love. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic,…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
Spread the love. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to…
It’s ‘Batter up!’ time in West Lawn
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . It must be May because baseball season is here. I recently reported on the West Lawn Little League, whose 2024 season is now underway. Another West Lawn youth athletic association is Midway Baseball Softball Association. Their teams…
Cinco de Mayo, here we come
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . It’s time to bring out the Corona, Tecate, Modelo or Dos Equis, along with a few limes. Heck, maybe even bring out the Patrón! It is Cinco de Mayo this Sunday, translated to…
Softball | Jocelyn Hovanec scores two runs, Ks 12 in Chicago Christian win
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Chicago Christian is working to find its footing in the inaugural season of the Chicagoland Christian Conference. The Knights entered this week 6-8 overall and 4-6 in the CCC, putting them in fifth place with just two conference games to play among their final seven regular-season contests. The Knights…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over…
Work moving forward at Marquette Park
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . In the March 29 edition of the Greater Southwest News-Herald, I wrote a story about a town hall meeting at Marquette Park, we learned of some of the upcoming plans the Park District has for…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club…