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Rauner's speech guest among the latest Legionnaire's cases at troubled veterans home

Chicago Tribune - 2/16/2018

Feb. 16--An Air Force veteran who was a guest of Gov. Bruce Rauner at his recent State of the State speech is among the three new cases of Legionnaires' disease at the Quincy Veterans Home.

Ivan Jackson, 79, was first hospitalized Saturday, according to daughter Marianne Jackson. She said he initially was admitted for pneumonia, but tests confirmed days later that he has Legionnaires'.

Ivan Jackson was one of two residents Rauner invited to his Jan. 31 speech at the Capitol. Jackson and the governor met when Rauner spent a week at the state-run veterans home to meet with staff, learn about operations and spend time with residents.

"I love it. I live in independent living quarters, and there's me and five other guys and 30 women," Ivan Jackson told WGN-TV in January, with a laugh.

Jackson said Rauner "came and introduced himself and well I got up. He says, 'Don't get up! My parents always taught me to respect my elders.' "

The veteran also had praise for his accommodations. "Oh I got TV in my room, I got a recliner, I got a refrigerator, I'm good to go," he added.

The Republican governor has come under intense criticism from lawmakers and re-election challengers on both sides of the aisle about his administration's response to Legionella bacteria outbreaks at the home, which first started in 2015. Since then, 13 residents have died, and dozens have been sickened.

Rauner repeatedly has defended his handling of the situation, saying the state called in outside experts, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has said bacteria causing the disease may be present in water pipes and might never be eradicated at the facility. The governor has called for spending $50 million to replace pipes and conduct other upgrades at the home, which was founded in 1886 and is the state's largest and oldest veterans home.

"The men and women who reside there put it all on the line for us," Rauner said during his State of the State speech. "We must now do the same for them."

Marianne Jackson said her father moved to the Quincy home from California in summer 2016. Originally from Springfield, he wanted to be closer to home. Jackson was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and was the all-time scorer for Lanphier High School's basketball team when he graduated in 1957.

He continued to play ball in the Air Force and helped coach youth programs for many years, said Marianne Jackson, who lives in New Mexico. He served in the Vietnam War and worked in aircraft scheduling, according to his daughter.

She said she read up on the Legionnaire's outbreak after her father called to let her know about Rauner's visit. She said most of the information about her father's health was coming from staff at Blessing Hospital in Quincy.

Marianne Jackson said the family was optimistic about her father's prognosis, saying his condition has improved each day. But she said she was worried about him returning to the home.

"After all of this, provided he is physically able to and amenable, if something is not done, I feel that I need to move him," Marianne Jackson said. "That is my personal preference. His health has been poor for years, and that would make him susceptible."

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Thursday that three people were diagnosed with the disease at the home this week. The agency said in response it is "boosting disinfection levels in its water to further reduce any potential exposure to residents and staff" and will put in place "modified water restrictions" across the campus.

Rauner was asked about the new cases at a stop in Peoria on Thursday.

"Oh, so frustrating. So we have done everything that the national experts have said we should do. We have, it's extraordinary what the team has done. We've acted quickly and decisively ... and still we got a couple cases," he said. "We may look at completely ripping out every type of plumbing, we may look at building a completely new building, and looking at completely different water source."

mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com

wlukitsch@chicagotribune.com

Rauner officials defend handling of Legionnaires' outbreak at Quincy veterans home »Another Legionnaires' case at veterans home plagued by deadly water problems »

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