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www.newstrib.com | Monday, November 11, 2019 | 75 cents
No nursing home beds for reservists? Springfield to close a loophole locking out some war veterans By Tom Collins
NEWSTRIBUNE SENIOR REPORTER
Amy Arthur served with the military police in Iraq and her unit was shot at. One of her comrades did not come home. The Oglesby veteran is entitled to many of the benefits available to all who served — low-interest home loans, free tuition, etc. — but there’s one service that is off-limits. When she’s elderly and in need of round-the-clock skilled care, she’ll have to find a private or public nursing home to meet her needs; the Illinois Veterans Home at La Salle is off-limits to her and other members of the Army National Guard. “I fought in Iraq and see no reason why my comrades and I shouldn’t get the same rights as others who served,” Arthur said. Springfield might change that, however. If a recently-introduced bill goes through then Arthur and other reservists and members of the National Guard will become eligible for nursing-home care at one of the state’s four homes. Arthur and her comrades are not completely locked out of state-run facilities. Some residential services are available to reservists who have completed 20 years of service, explained Evan Fazio, public information officer for the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, but the law contains no provision affording them nursing home care. “Once they need nursing home care,” Fazio said, “they have to be discharged.” State Sen. Jil Tracy didn’t think that was right. The Republican from Quincy, site of another Illinois Veterans Home, responded last week by filing Senate Bill 2293. The legislation would open nursing home care to veterans of the National Guard or Reserve Forces who have completed 20 years of service, have resided in Illinois at least a year and are otherwise eligible for retirement benefits. “We have so many reservists coming from the Middle East conflicts who are going to need skilled-care nursing and may need it sooner than later,” Tracy said. “We want to make sure
PHOTO/TOM SISTAK, SHAW MEDIA
Amy Arthur of Oglesby is a veteran of Iraq but that’s not enough to make her eligible for nursing home care at the Illinois Veterans Home when she enters her twilight years. Springfield is trying to fix a loophole in the law that limits nursing home care to fully-enlisted personnel and not reservists or members of the National Guard, such as Arthur. those services are available and I’m hopeful this legislation will be well-received.” Why have reservists seemingly been left in the cold? At present, the demand for nursing home care is effectively limited to fully-enlisted personnel who served in wars from the 1940s through the 1970s. Of the roughly 180 residents in La Salle, about 42% served in the Korean War, 20% served in World War II and 20% in Vietnam. Just 10 veteran residents served in peace time. Veterans of the extended War on Terror, by contrast, have not yet approached their life expectancy and therefore are not presently in need of nursing home care. While meeting those needs
might not be an imminent concern, Tracy’s legislation prepares for the day when veterans of major conflicts have passed and when bed space becomes available at the facilities in La Salle, Manteno, Quincy and Anna. Steve Kreitzer is all for expanding full eligibility to reservists and members of the National Guard. The superintendent of the La Salle County Veterans Assistance Commission pointed out that Tracy’s legislation makes fiscal sense as well as fulfilling a moral obligation to those who risked life and limb in service. “The eligibility change laid out in Illinois Senate Bill 2293 should not create any financial hardship on the state or the veter-
ans,” Kreitzer said. “These veterans retirements will likely cover the full amount of the premium charged for the care provided. “If they were to go for care in the private sector their care could cost five to six times as much,” he said. “This would be an amazing additional benefit for those that have sacrificed so much already for us.” Then there is the issue of jobs. The Illinois Veterans Home at La Salle currently employs 209 people and the legislation not only could ensure care for veterans but also continued employment for those who care for the needs of aged veterans. Two local lawmakers said they want to see what the legislation
contains after it’s been tweaked in committee — Tracy’s bill is just two weeks old — but said they support the concept in principle. “The bill looks good to me,” said state Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris). “I didn’t realize there was an issue until Sen. Tracy brought it up. Whatever we can do for our veterans and provide equal access to our veterans home is a good thing in my view.” State Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa) also expressed support but wants to hear more about costs and whether the state can get a financial commitment from Washington to help care for reservists in their twilight years. “I’m all for us taking care of See VETERANS Page A7
La Salle’s contaminated M&H Park is torn up by EPA cleanup By Ali Braboy
NEWSTRIBUNE REPORTER
While they were growing up, her children played at Matthiessen and Hegeler Park all summer long. So, Jessica Donovan of La Salle said it’s upsetting to know the park has contaminated soil. The U.S. Environmental
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It will take the EPA more than 10 years and $110 million to clean up the lawns and gardens in La Salle. Schools and parks where contaminants were identified as a problem will be prioritized for cleanup this year. The EPA is funded by the federal government. The multi-year Superfund cleanup zone could cover most
of La Salle, and possibly the east edge of Peru. Last year’s initial testing zone was north and west of the Matthiessen and Hegeler Zinc site to just west of Route 351 on the west and a block north of O’Conor Avenue near Illinois Veterans Home on the north. La Salle Mayor Jeff Grove said the EPA has been working on
M&H for about four weeks; the EPA has not provided a date they plan to finish at the park. M&H Park’s cleanup follows a cleanup at Northwest Elementary, which required an approximately football-field-sized area minus an end zone to be excavated. In the back of her head, See M&H Page A2
‘We’re all pretty sad’ Longtime volunteers out at Peru Red Cross, blood drives to continue By Brett Herrmann
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Protection Agency has been replacing soil at the park as part of cleanup that’s in response to soil contaminated by the former Matthiessen and Hegeler Zinc Co. in La Salle. The EPA found arsenic and lead in the soil of the park, which is located between Ninth and 11th streets and LaHarpe and Sterling streets.
NEWSTRIBUNE REPORTER
As a regular, there was a feeling of familiarity when Father Ron Margherio would visit the Red Cross blood drives in Peru. “It’s like the old days going to a store when you walk in and know everybody,” he said. “I like the friendly faces and I like talking to the people.” But many of those friendly
faces will no longer be around. A group of volunteers at the Peru Red Cross have said they will no longer participate in the bimonthly blood drives. The crew that would help greet donors and serve refreshments in “the canteen” have stated they no longer wish to take part in the drives. “We’ve been managing to keep the blood drives going See VOLUNTEERS Page A2
NEWSTRIBUNE FILE PHOTO
Esther Sparks, a longtime volunteer with the local Red Cross chapter, explains a pamphlet to Fr. Ron Margherio at a past blood drive. Regular donors will no longer be greeted by a group of local volunteers like Sparks, who have decided to no longer participate in the drives.