IG report details large-scale mismanagement of virus outbreak at Illinois veterans home where 36 died

[Tony]

CHICAGO (Tribune News Service) — A scathing independent report on last fall’s COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home that led to 36 deaths details systemic mismanagement from the top of the Illinois Veterans Affairs department down to the home’s leadership, which created an “inefficient, reactive and chaotic” response to controlling the virus.

The 50-page report from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General and the law firm of Armstrong Teasdale, released Friday, says then-VA Director Linda Chapa LaVia “abdicated” her responsibilities, leaving things to a nonmedical chief of staff who preferred to let each home manage itself while issuing rules contradictory to health guidelines and failing to seek outside help as the outbreak grew.