A new place to call home / Board OKs building nursing facility for county residents
Source: Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune (IL), September 12, 2007
As about 75 senior citizens and supporters looked on, Lake County officials Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a plan to build a new nursing home to replace the tax-supported Winchester House in Libertyville.
...... Officials said they could not rely on the private sector to fill that need, but they will form an advisory board of professionals to help the new facility avoid repeating past problems.
....... Talks regarding the nursing home's future escalated in late 2005, when the county laid off 54 Winchester workers -- or 16 percent of its 330 employees -- because of its financial woes. That is a scenario officials said they would like to prevent from recurring. "They've been talking about privatizing this place or closing it," said Matthew LaPierre, who represents 250 Winchester workers through the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.