Galesburg Reporter

Darren Bailey slams November 8 election opponent and incumbent Governor J.B. Pritzker over Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) health care issues.

Bailey called out Pritzker for his inaction on the IDOC problem.

"It is bad enough JB Pritzker has spent the last four years ignoring the glaring healthcare concerns at the Illinois Department of Corrections, but it is even worse for him to act like it is no big deal," Bailey said. "Where is the empathy? Where is the concern for the health and safety of the people who are in the state’s care? All he has to offer is callous excuses while he puts together a run for President, no one but him wants to see happen. We deserve better."

Pritzker's administration has been under fire several times concerning the management of state agencies. Bailey cited some.

"Under his watch, 36 veterans have died as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home; the Illinois Department of Employment Security paid out $2 billion in fraudulent unemployment payments; and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith has come under fire for putting children in danger by not properly placing children in the Department’s care. His term in office has been an unmitigated disaster. People have died under his watch and billions have been wasted during his tenure as Governor. We deserve better than Pritzker’s poor leadership. As Governor, my focus will be on leading this state and making state government work for ALL Illinois residents."

The Chicago Tribune also noted these incidents as part of Pritzker's atrocious record when it comes to running major portions of state government, such as the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The Pritzker administration in August was subjected to a contempt order over an ACLU lawsuit.

“IDOC’s failure here is staggering,” Camille Bennett, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union who represented prisoners in that litigation, said in a statement. “They were required by court order three years ago to develop a plan to fix the unconstitutional health care deficiencies for our clients across the state and they have yet to do it. We hope this will wake their leadership.”

During Pritzker's first year in office in 2019, IDOC, through an approved consent decree was federally mandated to assess and improve its healthcare system. A class action was filed against the agency in 2010 by prisoners who alleged systemic problems led to serious disease and even death for prisoners. The State of Illinois agreed to a health care monitor in January 2019. The recently released 292-page monitor’s report is the fifth report since the consent decree went into effect which revealed that some elderly prisoners with dementia appeared “neglected” and “abused.” Pritzker denied the report and told reporters “health care within our prison system has actually improved significantly since I took office.”

Pritzker has been charged with engaging in political games in connection with those who have passed away under the state's care. He was partially implicated in the deaths of 36 veterans at the Illinois Veterans' Home in LaSalle. Republican lawmakers of the House Veterans Affairs Committee interrogated former director of the Illinois Department of Public Health Ngozi Ezike during a hearing in 2021, according to the Dupage Policy Journal. Republican leaders attacked the Pritzker administration's handling of the outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans' Home, prompting the need for the hearings. Linda Chapa LaVia, the previous director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, resigned as a result of the fatalities, Illinois Valley Times reported.

Tom DeVore, a candidate for attorney general, claimed that Pritzker sent thugs to disrupt a press conference he was holding in front of the South Lawndale office of the Cook County Department of Corrections. That conversation concerned the Safe-T Act, which will allow offenders who have been charged with the worst offenses to be put back on the streets. “Our press conference this morning with a coalition of community activists in the South Suburbs was shut down by supporters of Governor Pritzker and Kwame Raul who turned violent,” DeVore said in the statement. "Public safety and discussions about the SAFE-T Act are absolutely critical, and deserve calm rational discussion. That is not what the left wants. We will not be resuming the press conference today, but we will most certainly be continuing this discussion.”