More oversight for Illinois Veterans Affairs Department under new law - khqa.com
Springfield, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — More oversight is coming for the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) through legislation that became law on Wednesday, Jan. 26.
The change comes after the deaths of 36 veterans from a COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home in the fall of 2020.
The core of the new law is creating a Veterans Accountability Unit within the IDVA. That office will have a director appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Illinois Senate for a four year term.
The director of the accountability unit will receive complaints, recommendations, and allegations from anyone associated with state veterans facilities, including residents, their families, and employees.
The director must ensure regular office hours, a toll-free helpline, and a dedicated email address for complaints and recommendations. Any major issues or legal violations must be forwarded to the Executive Inspector General's office. It will also require an annual report on issues reported to the accountability unit, and how they respond.
Deputy Minority Leader Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, represents the area around the LaSalle Veterans Home and sponsored the new legislation, which she calls a first step towards accountability.
"We need better communication, more transparency within the home," Rezin said. "We need to make sure that we have policies and procedures in place which my bills would force to make sure that this outbreak and this situation never happens again."
Rezin currently has three bills filed at the Statehouse, SB1445, SB2251, and SB2252 that would place additional regulations around veterans facilities.
Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Illinois, never signed the legislation, but it became law on Wednesday because he never vetoed it after 60 days since passing the General Assembly.
In a statement, a spokesperson for his office said: "Governor Pritzker and his administration worked closely with the sponsors of HB 359 and he wholeheartedly supports the legislation becoming law. We had hoped to be able to sign the bill with an in person signing ceremony, but due to the current COVID surge we were forced to delay those plans in order to keep our veterans safe and healthy. As we delayed our plans for a signing ceremony, there was an internal miscommunication on the drop date of the bill. We look forward to celebrating the enormous progress this new law will make in the weeks ahead once we can ensure we can hold an in person event safely."
In a released statement, Rezin said "The Pritzker Administration has a history of making careless mistakes when caring for veterans with catastrophic consequences. Fortunately for them, this one didn't lead to 36 veterans dying as we saw in late 2020 when the Pritzker Administration waited 11 days before providing crucial on-site assistance, leaving our nation's heroes and employees defenseless."
The new law takes effect on June 1, 2022.
source: https://khqa.com/newsletter-daily/more-oversight-for-illinois-veterans-affairs-department-under-new-law
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