* June of 2018…

State and local public health authorities have looked high and low for the sources of fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Quincy veterans’ home. Now, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is offering a new theory.

“Massive floods and tornadoes” and “a lot of dirt.”

But Rauner offered no proof, and experts who spoke to WBEZ were skeptical.

…Adding… The Pritzker campaign compiled a long list of the governor’s excuses. Click here.

* WBEZ now reports that the Rauner administration released 132,700 pages of documents related to the Quincy veterans’ home on Friday. Here’s one bit…

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration knew the Quincy veterans’ home had bungled a water-system repair in violation of state health codes but chose not to cite the facility for a mistake that likely contributed to a fatal Legionnaires’ outbreak in 2015, state records show. […]

One email has Rauner’s public health director explaining how a bacteria-laden “broth of legionella” was mistakenly released into the Illinois Veterans Home water system before a 2015 outbreak killed 12 residents.

That discharge had been previously highlighted in state and federal reports. But until now, it had not been known the release was serious enough to be a “citable offense” under state rules — an important detail that could weaken the state’s position in a dozen negligence lawsuits brought by victims’ families. […]

Shah outlined how a malfunctioning tank used to supply the home with hot water sat dormant for more than a month, filled with water that had cooled to 80 or 90 degrees — a level he described as the “optimal growing temperature” for Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’.

When the tank was repaired on Aug. 6, 2015 and put back online, the facility failed to empty out the stagnant water, which wound up being warmed to a temperature in which Legionella can still flourish. Gallons upon gallons of that water were then distributed “for normal use throughout the facility,” Shah wrote.

He likened it all to a “broth of legionella” and said it likely contaminated shower heads in the home within a week of the repair.

Go read the rest. The e-mail is here.

* Another story from WBEZ…

A top Illinois public health official delivered a searing indictment of how Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office handled fallout from the Legionnaires’ disease crisis at the Quincy veterans’ home, alleging that secrecy, indecision and “never-ending conference calls” created a “mess,” state records show.

Emails sent earlier this year by state Public Health Director Nirav Shah’s chief of staff offer some of the most damaging evidence yet that Rauner’s office itself was responsible for withholding key information from state lawmakers and the media about successive Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the facility.

“The [governor’s office] should have followed our advice and just release [sic] the documents with no redactions. Now we have another mess created by them to deal with,” Shah’s underling, Erik Rayman, wrote on April 4.

Rayman’s note to Shah and others within their agency came in response to a WBEZ story about how Rauner administration lawyers were aggressively censoring public documents related to Legionnaires’ outbreaks at the home, which are now linked to 14 deaths.

*** UPDATE *** Press release…

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today called for Illinois Public Health Director Nirav Shah to resign following reports that the Rauner Administration botched a water-system repair at Illinois Veterans Home (IVH) Quincy, which was in violation of state health codes, and then chose to deliberately withhold that information from the public and not cite the facility for a mistake. In newly released documents, Shah detailed the dangers present at the facility, noted that the violations warranted a citation, yet chose not to issue one. Additional reports indicate that Shah and other staff at the Illinois Department of Public Health found Governor Rauner’s office to be an obstacle in ensuring a prompt and comprehensive response to the deadly outbreaks and more focused on public perception.

“There was definitive evidence that a serious public health crisis was underway at the veterans’ home in Quincy in 2015, and the Rauner Administration and Director Shah chose to sit on their hands as veterans and staff at the home fell victim to these deadly bacteria. It’s an outrage that time after time the Governor and his team prioritized public relations over protecting vulnerable veterans, their spouses, and staff at IVH Quincy. Director Shah’s response to this tragedy reflects the height of irresponsibility and negligence, and it’s time for him to go,” said Durbin and Duckworth.

* Related…

* Quincy veterans’ home timeline