(The Center Square) – Two Illinois legislators are asking federal and state authorities to investigate a Metro East hospital over the potential misuse of taxpayer funds.
State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Alton, and state Sen. Erica Harriss, R-Glen Carbon, wrote letters to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, asking them to look into Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City.
Elik told The Center Square that the hospital asked employees in early August to delay cashing their paychecks.
“I’m an accountant. I know that that is a serious red flag if a business or organization is not going to be able to potentially pay their employees when they are due,” Elik said.
The letter from Elik and Harriss said Gateway received millions of dollars from Illinois taxpayers but now owes the state more than $40 million in unpaid taxes, penalties and payments.
The letter said the hospital also reportedly owes more than $2.6 million in property taxes and hundreds of thousands of dollars for water service and energy costs.
Harriss said there are questions about where the state money has gone, and she and Elik would like answers for people who are concerned about their jobs and and access to health care.
“We know that this hospital, we would like to see it stay open. We know that it serves a valuable purpose in the community, not only as an employer, but as a health care provider,” Harriss told The Center Square on Wednesday.
Elik and Harriss said in their letter that sworn statements from former hospital executives alleged that millions of dollars were funneled from Gateway to purchase hospitals in California, but Gateway’s parent company, American Healthcare Systems, disputed the allegations.
Elik said state payments to help the Gateway’s financial situation should have been used at the hospital it was loaned for.
“I don’t think it’s out of bounds for us to ask those questions, where did the money go?” Elik said.
When asked what she hoped the letters to Blanche and Raoul would accomplish, Elik said she would like to know about the hospital’s plan to get back on solid footing.
“That’s fair for us to expect them to be transparent, for them to be accountable for the state taxpayer dollars that they’re using, and to be transparent and accountable to their employees and staff,” Elik said.
Gateway Regional Medical Center did not immediately respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.
