(30 ILCS 500/45-67)

Sec. 45-67. Encouragement to hire qualified veterans. A chief procurement officer may, as part of any solicitation, encourage potential contractors to consider hiring qualified veterans and to notify them of any available financial incentives or other advantages associated with hiring such persons. In establishing internal guidelines in furtherance of this Section, the Department of Central Management Services may work with an interagency advisory committee consisting of representatives from the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Department of Employment Security, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the Department of Revenue and consisting of 8 members of the General Assembly, 2 of whom are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2 of whom are appointed by the President of the Senate, 2 of whom are appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and 2 of whom are appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

For the purposes of this Section, "qualified veteran" means an Illinois resident who: (i) was a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, a member of the Illinois National Guard, or a member of any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States; (ii) served on active duty in connection with Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, or Operation Iraqi Freedom; and (iii) was honorably discharged.

The Department of Central Management Services must report to the Governor and to the General Assembly by December 31 of each year on the activities undertaken by chief procurement officers and the Department of Central Management Services to encourage potential contractors to consider hiring qualified veterans. The report must include the number of vendors who have hired qualified veterans.

(Source: P.A. 100-143, eff. 1-1-18; 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)