* Carol Marin took a look at the allegations against Bruce Rauner of nursing home resident abuse…

Arlene Townsend’s family said she fell 18 times over 6 years at the same nursing home, the last time in 2007 resulting in her death.
92-year-old Elvira Nunziata died after falling down the stairs in her wheelchair at another nursing facility in 2004. A Florida newspaper reported no one knew she was missing for almost an hour.

In January, Rauner was asked about the deaths and financial judgments. “The attacks, we will have plenty of time to talk about them, there’s no there, there,” he said. When asked if his firm was culpable for the jury verdicts, Rauner replied no.

At the time of the deaths of Elvira Nunziata and Arlene Townsend, Rauner’s company, THI, had ended its relationship with the nursing homes.

But attorneys representing the three families contend in this lawsuit filed in January that not only THI, but GTCR should have to pay the financial judgments regardless of the timing of the deaths.

The family’s attorney Isaac Ruiz-Carus.

“It was an enterprise, a conglomerate of companies that,” said attorney Isaac Ruiz-Carus, who represents the three families, adding the companies, “Short-staffed it. Under-budgeted it. As a result the nursing home residents were suffering.

In a statement the Rauner campaign called the allegations completely false and said “Pat Quinn, the Democratic Governor’s Association and the government union bosses behind this ad should be ashamed.”

Rauner declined to speak to NBC 5 on camera.

In the end Rauner’s GTCR lost $60 million in the nursing home business according to a court document.

Video is here.

…Adding… Here’s the more easily embeddable YouTube version…

* Rauner’s campaign already has a new ad up responding to the latest union-backed nursing home TV spot. Rate it…

* But Sen. Bill Brady’s campaign is demanding answers. Press release…

BRADY DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM RAUNER ON NURSING HOMES ABUSE AND NEGLIGENCE

Senator Bill Brady, Republican candidate for Governor, tonight demanded that Bruce Rauner come clean on questions about his role in nursing homes where patients allegedly suffered abuse and neglect that led to their death.

“Tonight we again saw more of the same from Mr. Rauner in declining to answer questions about the tragic circumstances in nursing homes owned by companies in which he had a substantial financial interest. It’s more of a pattern, whether it’s nursing homes, Arne Duncan, Stuart Levine, Ed Rendell, or accounting fraud at a Michigan firm, and it’s time for him to answer the questions, “ Brady said.

“He’s trying to earn the support of Illinois voters in the primary less than four weeks from now, and his not me, don’t remember, didn’t know, didn’t have anything to do with it brush-offs are a disservice to all Illinois citizens.”

“The voters deserve transparency from people who want to be their governor, and they certainly deserve the truth,” Brady said.

“What’s the truth, Bruce?”