Public Act 094-0486
 
SB1491 Enrolled LRB094 10917 RLC 41807 b

    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by changing
Section 17-6 as follows:
 
    (720 ILCS 5/17-6)  (from Ch. 38, par. 17-6)
    Sec. 17-6. State Benefits Fraud. (a) Any person who obtains
or attempts to obtain money or benefits from the State of
Illinois, from any political subdivision thereof, or from any
program funded or administered in whole or in part by the State
of Illinois or any political subdivision thereof through the
knowing use of false identification documents or through the
knowing misrepresentation of his age, place of residence,
number of dependents, marital or family status, employment
status, financial status, or any other material fact upon which
his eligibility for or degree of participation in any benefit
program might be based, is guilty of State benefits fraud.
    (b) Notwithstanding any provision of State law to the
contrary, every application or other document submitted to an
agency or department of the State of Illinois or any political
subdivision thereof to establish or determine eligibility for
money or benefits from the State of Illinois or from any
political subdivision thereof, or from any program funded or
administered in whole or in part by the State of Illinois or
any political subdivision thereof, shall be made available upon
request to any law enforcement agency for use in the
investigation or prosecution of State benefits fraud or for use
in the investigation or prosecution of any other crime arising
out of the same transaction or occurrence. Except as otherwise
permitted by law, information disclosed pursuant to this
subsection shall be used and disclosed only for the purposes
provided herein. The provisions of this Section shall be
operative only to the extent that they do not conflict with any
federal law or regulation governing federal grants to this
State.
    (c) Any employee of the State of Illinois or any agency or
political subdivision thereof may seize as evidence any false
or fraudulent document presented to him in connection with an
application for or receipt of money or benefits from the State
of Illinois, from any political subdivision thereof, or from
any program funded or administered in whole or in part by the
State of Illinois or any political subdivision thereof.
    (d) (1) State benefits fraud is a Class 4 felony except
when more than $300 is obtained, in which case State benefits
fraud is a Class 3 felony.
    (2) State benefits fraud is a Class 3 felony when $300 or
less is obtained and a Class 2 felony when more than $300 is
obtained if a person knowingly misrepresents oneself as a
veteran or as a dependent of a veteran with the intent of
obtaining benefits or privileges provided by the State or its
political subdivisions to veterans or their dependents. For the
purposes of this paragraph (2), benefits and privileges
include, but are not limited to, those benefits and privileges
available under the Veterans' Employment Act, the Viet Nam
Veterans Compensation Act, the Prisoner of War Bonus Act, the
War Bonus Extension Act, the Military Veterans Assistance Act,
the Veterans' Employment Representative Act, the Veterans
Preference Act, the Service Member's Employment Tenure Act, the
Disabled Veterans Housing Act, the Under Age Veterans Benefits
Act, the Survivors Compensation Act, the Children of Deceased
Veterans Act, the Veterans Burial Places Act, the Higher
Education Student Assistance Act, or any other loans,
assistance in employment, monetary payments, or tax exemptions
offered by the State or its political subdivisions for veterans
or their dependents.
(Source: P.A. 82-999.)