Illinois utility electrical supplier ComEd has filed a lawsuit in Lake County Circuit Court claiming Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan owes more than $800,000 in unpaid electrical bills.
The lawsuit specifically names American Healthcare Systems Illinois LLC, Victory Hospital, and Waukegan Illinois Hospital Company as the defendants in the case. Vista Medical Center East used to be known as Victory Hospital before a name change years ago.
According to the complaint filed in Lake County Circuit Court on March 5, the hospital has failed to pay a grand total of $822,321.51 to ComEd for electrical service at 1324 N. Sheridan Road in Waukegan.
The failure to pay, the lawsuit reads, constitutes a breach of statutory duty as a “retail customer must pay the company for the amounts charged… for electrical service.”
ComEd is seeking the court to force the hospital to pay the complete amount due, interest, and court costs.
This is the second lawsuit filed against Vista Medical Center East since the start of 2025 and adds another layer of problems for the embattled hospital.
The family of Chelsea Adolphus, 28, of Waukegan, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Vista Medical Center East after she was found unresponsive on the hospital’s rooftop and died from cold exposure.
Adolphus was admitted to the hospital around 4 a.m. on January 22 seeking medical treatment and help.
She left her patient room on the fifth floor around 2 a.m. on January 23 and was discovered almost seven hours later on the second-floor rooftop of the hospital at approximately 8:45 a.m., Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said previously.
She was found unresponsive on the rooftop while only wearing her hospital gown while temperatures hovered in the low 20s, Banek said.
She died later that day after lifesaving measures failed to resuscitate her.
Vista Medical Center East has also been facing a whirlwind of financial problems since losing its Level 2 trauma designation in February of 2024. That trauma designation was reinstated a month later.
However, the hospital furloughed dozens of employees in January of 2025 and admitted to being delinquent in paying over $1 million in 2023 property taxes.
In addition, water bills to the city of Waukegan dated December 2024 show Vista owes $190,585 in unpaid bills. It’s unknown at this time if that bill has been paid.
Vista Health System President and CEO Kevin M. Spiegel said American Healthcare Systems, the owner of Vista Medical Center East, is “dedicated to ensuring the success of Vista Medical Center to continue to serve our community.”
He said the hospital received emergency funding from American Healthcare Systems on several occasions in 2024 to address costs related to staff and medical supplies. He added the hospital is working to apply for safety net status.
Safety net providers deliver a significant level of healthcare and related services to uninsured, Medicaid, and other low-income patients, which allows them to receive extra government funding.
Vista Health System was also seeking emergency funding from local and state legislators, Spiegel said.
“As we await the State of Illinois’s determination regarding both the Safety Net Status and the outcomes of our Emergency Funding requests, it is imperative for Vista to access its current operations and financial strategy,” he said when announcing the furloughs in January.