On a Quincy TV station yesterday, Bruce Rauner claimed his administration did “an excellent job” responding to the Legionnaires’ crisis that took 14 lives since 2015.
“Well our team has done, by and large, an excellent job. People aren’t perfect. Occasionally some things stumble here or there,” Rauner said on WGEM Monday. Legionnaires’ has plagued the Quincy Veterans’ Home since Rauner became governor, sickening Veteran residents and staff in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and killing 14. The Rauner administration waited six days to publicize the first outbreak, a delay one infectious disease expert called “mind boggling” and “inexcusable.”
“The fact that Bruce Rauner thinks Veterans and spouses in Quincy losing their lives to Legionnaires’ is him doing ’an excellent job’ is all we need to know about his failed leadership,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Fourteen people died on Rauner’s watch, but he still has the gall to go on a Quincy TV station, rewrite history, and insult those who lost loved ones.”
How is it 13 Vetereans die and you think everything was done right? Why did other government officials have to tell you too ask for funding to build a new home? Why did it take 5 days after the vets home got the warning too tell anyone. Do you really think you will be re-elected?
@GovRauner This is what legionnaires looks like it’s not just pneumonia this is my fathers flag draped casket right before it was folded and handed to my oldest brother! pic.twitter.com/Kv3zK0dwfy
* Rauner says improvements at Illinois Veterans Home moving at quick pace: The first step in the plan involved buying the nearby Sycamore Healthcare Center, which closed as a nursing home in April 2017. The state paid $625,000 for the facility and is gutting the complex so it can be rebuilt to house veterans during construction on the Veterans Home campus. It also can be used for other veterans-related services in the future. “The Sycamore facility is going to create a lot of options for us, so getting that done quickly — in the next few months — is a goal. And we seem to be on track to do that,” Rauner said. “We’re putting in all-new everything. We’re going to make it a world-class facility.”
Everything you need to know about Bruce Rauner is that he thinks the negligent killing of over a dozen people is “excellent.” The man is truly a cartoon villain, but with less character complexity and believability.
–Legionnaires’ has plagued the Quincy Veterans’ Home since Rauner became governor, sickening Veteran residents and staff in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and killing 14.–
The tradition continues. Rauner’s record on the nursing homes was bad before he was governor, so his self-assessment of “excellent” somehow does not surprise me at all.
===(Rauner speaking) “Well our team has done, by and large, an excellent job. People aren’t perfect. Occasionally some things stumble here or there,”===
The spin.
The real?
===The Rauner administration waited six days to publicize the first outbreak, a delay one infectious disease expert called “mind boggling” and “inexcusable.”===
How many have to die… to get beyond “stumbles”
It use to be zero. After one death, no one would call that death a stumble.
Rauner is at 14, Rauner calls his responses… stumbles.
Rauner death scale:
Outstanding 1-50 deaths
Excellent 51-100 deaths
Pretty Good 101- 150 deaths
Sub Optimal 151-200 deaths
Needs Improvement 201-250 deaths
Could Be Better 251-300 deaths
Not Too Shabby 301-350 deaths
Unfocused 351-400 deaths
A Bump In The Road - 401-450 deaths
Ooopsie 451-1000 deaths
More than 1000 - Tammy Duckworth’s fault
Three years later and he still won’t understand that the casualness of his language on this issue is why he can’t put it behind him. “stumbles….” He’s two serves of BBQ away from, “I mean, it’s like whaddya gonna do, right?”
For 4 years Rauner ducked, dodged, and did a little side-step every time he was asked about this crisis and every time he was asked to *do something* about this crisis.
The fact that he now claims to be “working quickly”… *4 years later, while he’s trying to get re-elected* speaks volumes and should inform the voters as to his real priorities.
A guy who made lots of money running sub-standard nursing homes has people die in a state-run veterans home after he becomes governor. 20 years from now we’ll look back at this and say, “Duh.”
Rauner’s defeat in November may be the first time he’s actually held accountable for his actions/in-actions.
The alarms were sounding, and the Governors’ PR people were discussing how to spin it. This should have been attended to at the highest levels, immediately.Very poor administration - unbelievable incompetence.
So let’s see how they try to rewrite history. It’s incredibly amazing to believe that the Governor still hasn’t figured out how to apologize for the mismanagement.
Senger resigned after never answering the Duckworth question.
IDVA Director as well as members of her team resigned during Joint Hearing investigations.
Facilities Director at Quincy resigned in 2016.
Hired a $240k/year “fixer” to try and spin this into a win.
Never one apology from anyone in the Governor’s administration.
Such callousness from Rauner. Timothy Miller deserves an answer to his questions from Rauner himself. He had a hand in causing the man’s father’s death. The very least Rauner should do is acknowledge the anger and frustration.
- ItsMillerTime - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 11:27 am:
If I was JB I would be calling Mr. Miller and asking him to do a commercial about Rauner and his failure at Quincy
- We'll See - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 11:28 am:
A practice line for his reelection bid…..
- Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 11:29 am:
Everything you need to know about Bruce Rauner is that he thinks the negligent killing of over a dozen people is “excellent.” The man is truly a cartoon villain, but with less character complexity and believability.
- @misterjayem - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 11:30 am:
“Well, our team has done, by and large, an excellent job.”
He actually believes this.
I can’t imagine a better reason to deny him another term.
– MrJM
- I Miss Bentohs - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 11:34 am:
I better see Mr Miller, or someone from his family, on my tv every night in late October
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 11:38 am:
–Legionnaires’ has plagued the Quincy Veterans’ Home since Rauner became governor, sickening Veteran residents and staff in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and killing 14.–
How in the world do you rate that “excellent?”
- DuPage - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 11:43 am:
The tradition continues. Rauner’s record on the nursing homes was bad before he was governor, so his self-assessment of “excellent” somehow does not surprise me at all.
- Anon221 - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 11:50 am:
Wonder if anyone in the Administration is squirming just a bit over what’s happening in Michigan…
https://tinyurl.com/y7o2kd9x
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:08 pm:
Perspective…
===(Rauner speaking) “Well our team has done, by and large, an excellent job. People aren’t perfect. Occasionally some things stumble here or there,”===
The spin.
The real?
===The Rauner administration waited six days to publicize the first outbreak, a delay one infectious disease expert called “mind boggling” and “inexcusable.”===
How many have to die… to get beyond “stumbles”
It use to be zero. After one death, no one would call that death a stumble.
Rauner is at 14, Rauner calls his responses… stumbles.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:30 pm:
Rauner death scale:
Outstanding 1-50 deaths
Excellent 51-100 deaths
Pretty Good 101- 150 deaths
Sub Optimal 151-200 deaths
Needs Improvement 201-250 deaths
Could Be Better 251-300 deaths
Not Too Shabby 301-350 deaths
Unfocused 351-400 deaths
A Bump In The Road - 401-450 deaths
Ooopsie 451-1000 deaths
More than 1000 - Tammy Duckworth’s fault
- lakeside - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:32 pm:
Three years later and he still won’t understand that the casualness of his language on this issue is why he can’t put it behind him. “stumbles….” He’s two serves of BBQ away from, “I mean, it’s like whaddya gonna do, right?”
- Happy Retiree - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:34 pm:
For 4 years Rauner ducked, dodged, and did a little side-step every time he was asked about this crisis and every time he was asked to *do something* about this crisis.
The fact that he now claims to be “working quickly”… *4 years later, while he’s trying to get re-elected* speaks volumes and should inform the voters as to his real priorities.
- Langhorne - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:43 pm:
Unbelievably callous and cold hearted.
Hit him again. Hit him again. Harder. Harder.
- Anton Cermak - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:44 pm:
A guy who made lots of money running sub-standard nursing homes has people die in a state-run veterans home after he becomes governor. 20 years from now we’ll look back at this and say, “Duh.”
Rauner’s defeat in November may be the first time he’s actually held accountable for his actions/in-actions.
- Jocko - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:49 pm:
==Occasionally some things stumble here or there==
Since Bruce decided to channel Donald Rumsfeld, here’s a gem, “I’m not into this detail stuff. I’m more concepty.”
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:50 pm:
The man really is separated from reality if he believes he can claim they did an “excellent” job in the Quincy Veterans Home fiasco.
- don the legend - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:50 pm:
Faith is knowing that there is a special place for people like Rauner.
- don the legend - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 12:54 pm:
Sadly, Rauner has supporters who can actually look past this and say he deserves four more years.
Perhaps they would like to blame Quincy on Madigan’s “stubbornness”.
- Professor - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 1:14 pm:
The alarms were sounding, and the Governors’ PR people were discussing how to spin it. This should have been attended to at the highest levels, immediately.Very poor administration - unbelievable incompetence.
- Huh? - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 1:30 pm:
Rauner death scale:
I didn’t go to the funerals so why should I care?
- Frank talks - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 1:41 pm:
So let’s see how they try to rewrite history. It’s incredibly amazing to believe that the Governor still hasn’t figured out how to apologize for the mismanagement.
Senger resigned after never answering the Duckworth question.
IDVA Director as well as members of her team resigned during Joint Hearing investigations.
Facilities Director at Quincy resigned in 2016.
Hired a $240k/year “fixer” to try and spin this into a win.
Never one apology from anyone in the Governor’s administration.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 1:47 pm:
Was Eugene Miller a WW II or Korean War vet?
Hard to tell by his age.
Thank you for your service and rest in peace.
- Cubs in '16 - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 1:50 pm:
Such callousness from Rauner. Timothy Miller deserves an answer to his questions from Rauner himself. He had a hand in causing the man’s father’s death. The very least Rauner should do is acknowledge the anger and frustration.
- DeseDemDose - Tuesday, Aug 21, 18 @ 1:56 pm:
Quincy vets funerals aren’t important to Rauner, he only has time for giggling at BBQ’s while taking credit for things he didn’t do.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Aug 22, 18 @ 7:34 am:
===People aren’t perfect. Occasionally some things stumble here or there===
Yeah, like your election in 2014.