Quincy Veteran Dies After Legionnaires’, Health Complications

QUINCY, IL — Services were held on Monday for a Quincy veterans' home resident who died from health complications after contracting Legionnaires' disease. WBEZ news reported U.S. Air Force veteran Ivan Jackson, 79, died in a St. Louis hospital on May 23, just months after Gov. Rauner hosted him during the January 2018 State of the State address.

According to WBEZ, the coroner in St. Louis County wasn't available, but Rauner's administration said it didn't have any evidence Jackson's death was caused by the disease. However, the veteran's daughter said Legionnaires' was likely a contributing factor in addition to other serious underlying illnesses.

• Legionnaires' Outbreak: Rauner Wants To Demolish Vets Home Dorms
• 2 New Legionnaires' Cases At Illinois Veterans Home In Quincy
• Legionnaires' Outbreak: Rauner Staying At Quincy Veterans Home

Before Jackson's death, 13 Illinois Veterans Home residents died from Legionnaires' and dozens more residents and staff at the home have been sickened by the disease during outbreaks since 2015.

Patch reported that Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration announced in March plans to replace residence halls at the Quincy veterans' facility, after the Republican leader stayed at the home for a week in January to dramatize his efforts to get to the bottom of the outbreak.

The plans follow a pledge Rauner made at the beginning of the year, claiming he would replace antiquated plumbing which could provide harbor for the bacteria that causes the deadly, pneumonia-like malady. Rauner did say at the time a newly constructed facility could be a long-term option, Patch reported.

Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia called by legionella bacteria. The disease is not typically spread by person-to-person contact, although that can occur in rare cases, and is usually contracted by inhaling the bacteria.

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)