The Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday was ordered by a Cook County judge to inspect a suburban Chicago nursing home being targeted for closing because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
The town of Cicero is pushing for the closing of City View Multi-care Center for not enforcing rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and its residents transferred alternate care facilities.
Since April 1, more than 164 of City View’s 320 residents and more than 41 of its staff have tested positive, according to Cicero officials. Ten people have died from the coronavirus, including nine residents and one staff member.
"It seems obvious to me that an inspection needs to happen to see the actual conditions and it needs to happen very quickly given the type of outbreak we’re in and the numbers that we’ve already seen,” Judge Alison Conlon said during a hearing on the lawsuit filed Tuesday.
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City View’s attorney, Jason Lundy, argued Cicero has no authority to regulate nursing homes or to seek and injunction against a nursing home.
The inspection of City View ordered by the judge is to take place Thursday. In the meantime, the facility remains open.
Cicero’s lawsuit also names the state's health department and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, alleging state officials and the nursing home failed to respond appropriately to the pandemic.
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During a Tuesday news conference, Pritzker noted nursing homes are often privately owned, and it’s the state’s responsibility to make sure they are doing the right thing.
