Rauner Makes Proposals for New Veterans’ Home

A request for proposals is out as of Thursday for a new state-of-the-art Illinois Veterans’ Home facility in Quincy.

Governor Bruce Rauner says a firm specializing in such facilities will be involved in the design. A more precise dollar figure should be available sometime in the fall.

Governor Rauner also talking about some interim possibilities should an additional problem with Legionnaire’s Disease develop at the veterans’ home. That could include purchase of the Sycamore Healthcare facility, two blocks of the Illinois Veterans’ Home campus on North 8th Street, and also the addition of some new from the ground up modular housing to house veterans home residents.

Rauner and his staff say that the veterans’ home has gone above and beyond the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control, yet the Legionnaire’s outbreak has persisted, with four cases this year. Legionnaire’s a factor in 13 deaths at the Illinois Veterans’ Home since 2015.