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1 | AN ACT concerning military service.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Department of Veterans' Affairs Act is | ||||||
5 | amended by adding Section 39 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (20 ILCS 2805/39 new) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 39. Veterans' Accountability Unit. | ||||||
8 | (a) The Department shall create a Veterans' Accountability | ||||||
9 | Unit which shall receive complaints and recommendations from: | ||||||
10 | (i) veterans and other Illinois residents who seek services | ||||||
11 | from the Department; (ii) residents of Veterans' Homes, their | ||||||
12 | families, and visitors; (iii) vendors and contractors of the | ||||||
13 | Department; and (iv) staff of the Department. | ||||||
14 | (b) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall | ||||||
15 | confirm, the Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit. | ||||||
16 | The Director shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. | ||||||
17 | (c) The Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit | ||||||
18 | shall ensure that the Unit maintains regular office hours and | ||||||
19 | establishes both a toll-free helpline and a dedicated | ||||||
20 | electronic mail address for the purpose of accepting | ||||||
21 | complaints, information, and recommendations. The Director | ||||||
22 | shall provide a reasonable means for receiving complaints | ||||||
23 | outside of office hours. |
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1 | (d) The Veterans' Accountability Unit shall function | ||||||
2 | independently of the Department. The salary and benefits of | ||||||
3 | the Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit and any | ||||||
4 | other staff of the Unit, as deemed necessary by the Director, | ||||||
5 | along with all other expenses of the Unit shall be paid from | ||||||
6 | appropriations to the Department. | ||||||
7 | (e) The Director and staff of the Veterans' Accountability | ||||||
8 | Unit shall have the authority to access the offices or | ||||||
9 | facilities of the Department and the Veterans' Homes and shall | ||||||
10 | have access to all information, documents, and personnel of | ||||||
11 | the Department as needed to perform the duties of the | ||||||
12 | Veterans' Accountability Unit. It is the duty of every | ||||||
13 | employee of the Department to cooperate with the Veterans' | ||||||
14 | Accountability Unit. The Department shall provide the staff of | ||||||
15 | the Veterans' Accountability Unit with physical space in each | ||||||
16 | Department office and in each Veterans' Home to conduct | ||||||
17 | confidential business as needed to perform the work of the | ||||||
18 | Veterans' Accountability Unit. | ||||||
19 | (f) The Veterans' Accountability Unit shall ensure all | ||||||
20 | complaints, allegations, or incidents of possible misconduct, | ||||||
21 | misfeasance, malfeasance, or violations of rules, procedures, | ||||||
22 | or laws by any employee, service provider, or contractor of | ||||||
23 | the Department are reported to the Office of Executive | ||||||
24 | Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor. | ||||||
25 | (g) The Office of Executive Inspector General for the | ||||||
26 | Agencies of the Illinois Governor shall assess the complaints, |
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1 | allegations, and incidents and shall determine whether to (i) | ||||||
2 | investigate, (ii) refer to the appropriate agency, (iii) refer | ||||||
3 | to any appropriate law enforcement agency, (iv) request a | ||||||
4 | response from the Department to the complaint, allegations, or | ||||||
5 | incident, or (v) refer to the Veterans' Accountability Unit to | ||||||
6 | conduct further inquiry or review if necessary. | ||||||
7 | (h) The Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit may | ||||||
8 | recommend changes to the Director of Veterans' Affairs | ||||||
9 | concerning Department policies or practices based upon | ||||||
10 | information learned or observations made by the Veterans' | ||||||
11 | Accountability Unit staff during the course of its duties. The | ||||||
12 | Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit shall meet | ||||||
13 | regularly with the Office of Executive Inspector General for | ||||||
14 | the Agencies of the Illinois Governor to report this | ||||||
15 | information to allow the Office to determine whether further | ||||||
16 | investigation is necessary. | ||||||
17 | (i) The Veterans' Accountability Unit shall create an | ||||||
18 | annual report that includes a summary of the complaints | ||||||
19 | received and actions taken in response. This report shall not | ||||||
20 | include any referrals to the Office of Executive Inspector | ||||||
21 | General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor that result | ||||||
22 | in an investigation. The summaries shall not contain any | ||||||
23 | confidential or identifying information concerning the | ||||||
24 | subjects or complainants of the reports and investigations. | ||||||
25 | (j) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations by | ||||||
26 | the Department of Veterans' Affairs that may otherwise be
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1 | required by law or that may be necessary in that Department's
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2 | capacity as the central administrative authority on matters
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3 | concerning services to veterans, their survivors, and
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4 | dependents.
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