CHICAGO (AP) — A long-term care company with ties to Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner has faced lawsuits and disciplinary action over the mistreatment of residents.

The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises reports allegations against American Habilitation Services include fatalities and “deplorable” living conditions.

Rauner’s former private equity firm launched American Habilitation Services as a for-profit company in 1996. It operated in a handful of states.
Rauner Spokesman Mike Schrimpf says Rauner wasn’t on American Habilitation Services’ board or involved with day-to-day operations. He says the incidents were tragic and Rauner’s “heart goes out to the families who were impacted.”

The state of Texas took over one care center in 2005, after an 11-year-old resident died. In another incident, a disabled woman who was left alone drowned in a bathtub.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)