THE ILLINOIZE: Exclusive: Report admonishes Pritzker administration for failures at LaSalle Veterans' Home...What overturning Roe would mean in Illinois...Federal survey responses
May 3, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
I was in Champaign yesterday for a few appointments and I was reminded of the quaintness of the college town. Brad Underwood, the Men’s Basketball coach who makes $4 million per year, was just walking down Kirby Avenue between Memorial Stadium and the State Farm Center. No paparazzi, no crowd, no handlers. Just a guy walking down the street.
Obviously, the political world was turned on its head last night, which we’ll get to below for the impact on Illinois. I couldn’t imagine watching cable news last night with the megaphones, pitchforks, screaming, and shouting. I have my personal views and I may share those at some point, but remember it’s a deeply personal issue and if someone doesn’t share your view, it doesn’t immediately make them evil. Have a little grace today.
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Let’s get to it.
AUDITOR GENERAL SLAMS PRITZKER ADMIN INACTION ON LASALLE
An Auditor General report slamming the Pritzker administration’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home that killed 36 residents in late 2020 will be released this week, The Illinoize has learned.
A source who has seen a portion of a summary report, shared portions of it with The Illinoize Monday. It lays out what is expected in the full report that is due for release Thursday morning.
Auditor General Frank Mautino did not return a message Monday night to confirm the report or its scheduled release.
The report will likely reignite the debate over the issue of Governor JB Pritzker and his administration to react and mitigate the deadly outbreak when it began sweeping through the nursing home in November 2020. Pritzker has attempted to minimize the role his administration played in the daily management of the outbreak, but the report will indicate there was daily contact between the home, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Governor’s office, specifically Deputy Governor Sol Flores.
Flores testified before a Senate committee last May, placing much of the blame on former IDVA Director Linda Chapa LaVia.
“Ultimately, this administration relied upon the people we had hired to get this right,” Flores said at the time. “But when we learned that individuals had fallen short in performing their duties, in some cases severely, we suspended employees, terminated employees and informed others that they would not be continuing in their roles.”
Her statements followed a report by the Inspector General of the Department of Human Services in April of 2021 blaming IDVA for a “lack of COVID-19 preparation.”
The Auditor General will report the Department of Human Services Inspector General did not conduct a full investigation into the handling of the outbreak. The Inspector General conducted voluntary interviews and did not speak to some fired staff, including the former Home administrator. Neither Chapa LaVia, Flores, or other officials in the governor’s office were interviewed at the time, DHS testified.
It isn’t clear yet what further investigation the Auditor General did.
Multiple lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, contacted by The Illinoize Monday either did not return our messages or said they hadn’t seen the report. Neither the Governor’s office or Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs returned messages seeking comment.
The new report will be released as 27 families have filed suit against the state and IDVA for the outbreak. It will likely re-emerge as an issue in the fall campaign, as Pritzker will be attacked for his perceived “failure to protect” veterans in the state’s care.
POTENTIAL ROE RULING DOESN’T IMPACT ILLINOIS
The national media and Democratic politicians filled the airwaves and social media with anger last night after national reporters at POLITICO reported on a leaked draft Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade.
If the ruling does prove true, which isn’t yet confirmed, it likely wouldn’t have much impact in Illinois.
In 2017, then-Governor Bruce Rauner signed HB40, which expanded public funding for abortion. In 2019, Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill repealing a 1975 “trigger” law that would criminalize abortion if Roe were overturned. The bill also indicated a “fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights.”
In December, Pritzker signed legislation repealing the long-standing Parental Notice of Abortion law, requiring the notification of a parent if a minor girl were to have an abortion.
Pritzker was on CNN last night framing he’ll make the issue a key part of his re-election campaign.
“For a party that says they’re all about individual freedom, they are hellbent on taking away freedoms from so many women. And remember, if they come after Roe, they’ll come after everything. Gay marriage is next. Then other protections for minority and marginalized communities,” he said. “And we have already seen thousands of women here who have been left with no other choice than to cross state lines to exercise their rights. Every candidate for governor and state assemblies should be asked where they stand on this. Do you intend to be like Oklahoma and Texas, or will you be like Illinois where we trust women to make their own decisions about their own bodies?”
MORE SHAW SURVEYS
I shared a bunch of surveys for statewide candidates in yesterday’s Free for All and wanted to share a set of surveys for Senate and U.S. House candidates. It appears Senator Tammy Duckworth, GOP Senate frontrunner Kathy Salvi, 11th District GOP frontrunner Catalina Lauf, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, and 17th District GOP frontrunner Esther King did not fill out the surveys. But, there are some interesting nuggets if you stick around to the end.
U.S. Senate:
6th District:
8th District:
11th District:
14th District:
16th District:
17th District:
By the way, the survey asked Piton if Biden won the 2020 election.
“NO, He DID NOT and I have the Data and Analysis to Prove it.” Improper capitalization is his.
Back in the day, these kinds of people wore hats made of aluminum foil.
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