Public Act 093-0976
 
HB4996 Enrolled LRB093 19385 DRJ 45123 b

    AN ACT concerning veterans.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Military Code of Illinois is amended by
changing Section 22-9 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 1805/22-9)
    Sec. 22-9. Power to make grants from the Illinois Military
Family Relief Fund. Subject to appropriation, the Department of
Military Affairs shall have the power to make grants from the
Illinois Military Family Relief Fund, a special fund created in
the State treasury, to single persons who are members of the
Illinois National Guard or Illinois residents who are members
of the reserves of the armed forces of the United States and
who have been called to active duty as a result of the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and to families of persons
who are members of the Illinois National Guard or Illinois
residents who are members of the reserves of the armed forces
of the United States and who have been called to active duty as
a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The
Department of Military Affairs shall establish eligibility
criteria for the grants by rule.
    In addition to amounts transferred into the Fund under
Section 510 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, the State Treasurer
shall accept and deposit into the Fund all gifts, grants,
transfers, appropriations, and other amounts from any legal
source, public or private, that are designated for deposit into
the Fund.
(Source: P.A. 92-886, eff. 2-7-03; 93-506, eff. 8-11-03.)
 
    Section 10. The Survivors Compensation Act is amended by
adding Section 4 as follows:
 
    (330 ILCS 100/4 new)
    Sec. 4. Compensation in connection with deceased veterans
of the Global War on Terrorism.
    (a) The widow or widower, child or children, mother,
father, persons standing in loco parentis, brothers and
sisters, in the order named, of any deceased person if (i) that
person was a resident of Illinois for at least 12 months
immediately preceding entry into military service and (ii) that
person's death was service-connected as a result of hostile
action on or after September 11, 2001 and prior to such time as
Congress declares such persons ineligible for the Global War on
Terrorism Expeditionary Medal or the Global War on Terrorism
Service Medal shall be paid $3,000.
    (b) If a preceding beneficiary fails to file a claim of
compensation after the official notice of death, the Department
of Veterans' Affairs may accept applications from succeeding
beneficiaries, and such beneficiaries may then proceed to
qualify upon submission of satisfactory proof of eligibility.
    (c) No right or claim to compensation under this Section
may be assigned.
    (d) The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs has
complete charge and control of the general scheme of payments
authorized by this Section and shall adopt general rules for
the making of those payments, for the ascertainment and
selection of proper beneficiaries and the amount to which those
beneficiaries are entitled, and for procedure.
    (e) If the person to whom compensation is payable under
this Section is under legal disability, the compensation shall
be paid to the person legally vested with the care of the
legally disabled person under the laws of his or her state of
residence. If no such person has been so designated for the
legally disabled person, payment shall be made to the chief
officer of any hospital or institution under the supervision or
control of any state or of the Veterans Administration of the
United States in which the legally disabled person is placed,
if the officer is authorized to accept moneys for the benefit
of the incompetent. Any payments so made shall be held or used
solely for the benefit of the legally disabled person.
    As used in this Section, a person "under legal disability"
means any person found to be so disabled by a court of
competent jurisdiction of any state or the District of Columbia
or by any adjudication officer of the Veterans Administration
of the United States.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.