While Nirav Shah did not deliberately kill 14 veterans, his tenure as the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) from 2015 to 2019 coincided with a series of fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the state-run Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy. The outbreaks ultimately sickened dozens and were linked to 14 resident deaths.

Between 2015 and subsequent years, stagnant water and a compromised plumbing system led to outbreaks of the waterborne Legionella bacteria at the Quincy facility.

Shah and the IDPH faced intense bipartisan backlash and investigations for their handling of the crisis. Critics, including federal lawmakers, condemned the agency for an initial six-day delay in notifying residents, their families, and staff about the presence of the bacteria.

Shah didn’t allow the CDC in until it was too late, and the outbreak caused 14 deaths.

They had to pay out over $6 million to victims’ families.

The controversy re-emerged when Shah sought the Democratic nomination to run for U.S. Senate in Maine. Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth—who previously called for Shah to resign in 2018—publicly opposed his Maine Senate bid. You can review the details of Senator Duckworth’s statements opposing his candidacy via The Hill or Chicago Sun-Times. She said Maine deserves better.

It was quite serious, and he was negligent, and his negligence led to the deaths of 14 veterans.

State officials in Maine acknowledged that they knew about intense criticism, a grand jury investigation, and calls for the ouster of Dr. Nirav Shah over his handling of a four-year deadly public health crisis in Illinois.

Dick Durban and JB Pritzker spoke against him.

They hired him anyway, claiming he acted appropriately.

Shah is condemning RFK Jr who hasn’t killed anyone.

Shah calls himself an outsider, and according to The Crimson Hub, he really is, but he isn’t Maine through and through as he suggests.

The address on file tells a more complicated story. On March 24, 2026, Shah donated $3,500 to a congressional candidate in Illinois, listing his address as 2232 W Oakdale Ave in Chicago. That’s not a Brunswick address. Around the same time, he was using his Brunswick address for Maine-based donations tied to his statewide ambitions here. Two addresses, two audiences, roughly the same window of time.

Shah is also a licensed Illinois attorney, and his bar registration reportedly lists that same Oakdale address. [Note for Caleb: your original links to an ARDC lookup here, but the link in the source text is a placeholder, not a live URL. Send me the actual ARDC record, and I’ll drop it in.]