Administrator fired, nursing director placed on leave amid deadly coronavirus outbreak at Illinois veterans home in LaSalle

The administrator of the state-run veterans home in LaSalle was fired Monday amid a deadly coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 32 veterans who lived there since early November.

Administrator Angela Mehlbrech was fired by the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and will be replaced on an interim basis by Anthony Vaughn, the agency’s acting assistant director and a 24-year Marine Corps veteran, the department said Monday.

In addition to firing Mehlbrech, the state agency placed the home’s nursing director, Jackie Cook, on administrative leave pending an ongoing investigation.

Department Director Linda Chapa LaVia wrote in a letter to staff at the home that they should not have contact with Mehlbrech or Cook without Vaughn signing off first.

“Staff are directed to not have any work-related contact with Ms. Angela Mehlbrech or Ms. Jackie Cook without the director approval of Mr. Vaughn,” Chapa LaVia wrote.

Last month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration announced that it was initiating an inspector general investigation of the deadly outbreak. The announcement came hours before the state Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on the matter.

During his 2018 run for governor, Pritzker was highly critical of former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s handling of a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the state veterans home in Quincy.

dpetrella@chicagotribune.com

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