* Tribune…
An Air Force veteran and former resident of the Quincy veterans home who was a guest of Gov. Rauner at his State of the State speech has died.
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.
Soon after the speech, Jackson was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, one of three new cases at the Quincy home.
“U.S. Air Force veteran Ivan Jackson was a man of rare quality,” Rauner tweeted Monday. “Husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, his service will be remembered, his memory cherished … forever. Rest in honor, my friend.”
* WBEZ…
Rauner’s administration said it had no evidence Jackson’s death was caused by Legionnaires’, and the coroner in St. Louis County, Missouri, where he died, wasn’t immediately available. But Jackson’s daughter said Legionnaires’ likely was a contributing factor along with other serious underlying illnesses.
“I can’t tell you that it was a reason he passed, but I can tell you it didn’t help in his ongoing health issues,” Allyson Springer told WBEZ Monday afternoon. […]
Springer said her father was hospitalized with pneumonia on February 9, less than two weeks after Rauner feted Jackson at his State of the State address. Rauner met the veteran during a weeklong stay at the facility in January, a visit designed to show the home was safe.
After being admitted to the hospital, Springer said her father had a heart attack. A few days later, the family learned he had tested positive for Legionnaires’. After his heart attack, Springer said Jackson suffered a stroke.
Prior to his illness, she said he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was outfitted with both a pacemaker and defibrillator.
…Adding… Pritzker campaign with a related angle…
Weeks before the budget crisis began, Bruce Rauner announced the cuts his impending crisis would force on state programs, including halting construction of the Chicago Veterans’ Home.
The 195-bed facility was originally slated to open in mid-2016, but now it’s been delayed by over three years. Rauner also suspended capital projects, delayed payments to state vendors, and suspended funding for addiction and bullying prevention, firefighter training, immigrant integration services, and welcoming centers.
“Critical programs that help Illinoisans build better lives became casualties of Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership months into him being sworn in,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “This failed governor halted construction on a Veterans’ home in Chicago — and then fatally mismanaged one in Quincy — in a desperate and cruel attempt to force his political agenda on our state.”
