Three years after the initial outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy, residents of that facility and others like it are still waiting for Governor Bruce Rauner to be proactive in detecting and removing Legionella bacteria from state-run facilities. State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) took charge of the situation Thursday by passing House Bill 4278, which requires an Illinois veterans Home to notify facility residents and their emergency contacts within 24 hours if two or more residents in the home have been diagnosed with an infectious disease in period of one month or less.

“This is a commonsense measure that puts the health of our veterans ahead of bureaucracy,” Cullerton said. “In 2015, the families of the servicemen and women residing the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy should have been notified of the Legionnaires’ disease epidemic, but Gov. Rauner’s administration left them and their loved ones in the dark. This is simply unacceptable and we can’t let it happen again.”  House Bill 4278 also requires veterans’ homes to post notification of the incidence of the infectious disease in a visible place near the facility’s main entrance.  Once those requirements have been met, they must notify the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Public Health of the incidence of the infectious disease. House Bill 4278 is supported by the Better Government Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Illinois AMVETS. It passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support.