State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SB0876

 
                                               LRB9201514MWcd

 1        AN ACT concerned military funeral honors.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.  The  Military Code of Illinois is amended by
 5    adding Article IV-A as follows:

 6        (20 ILCS 1805/Art. IV-A heading new)
 7               ARTICLE IV-A.  MILITARY FUNERAL HONORS

 8        (20 ILCS 1805/28.1 new)
 9        Sec.  28.1.  Purpose.  This   Article   establishes   the
10    Illinois  Military  Funeral Honors Program to ensure, subject
11    to the appropriation of adequate funds, an appropriate  final
12    tribute  to deceased veterans and Governors in the absence of
13    federal military funeral honors or funeral honors provided by
14    veteran organizations. This  Article  establishes  procedures
15    that ensure this tribute on behalf of a grateful citizenry to
16    honor  deceased  veterans  in recognition of their service to
17    the State of Illinois and to the United  States  of  America.
18    The  rendering  of  military funeral honors is the ceremonial
19    paying of respects and final demonstration  of  gratitude  to
20    those  who,  in  times  of  war  and  peace,  have faithfully
21    defended freedom.

22        (20 ILCS 1805/28.2 new)
23        Sec.  28.2.  Administration.  The  Adjutant  General   of
24    Illinois,  as Director of the Department of Military Affairs,
25    shall administer the Military Funeral Honors Program.

26        (20 ILCS 1805/28.3 new)
27        Sec. 28.3.  State  funeral  honors.  The  funeral  honors
28    entitlement established by this Article may be provided to an
 
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 1    eligible  veteran  only if (i) a request for military funeral
 2    honors has been made on behalf of  the  deceased  veteran  to
 3    federal  authorities and (ii) military funeral honors are not
 4    to be provided by  federal  authorities,  regardless  of  the
 5    reason.   Governors  are entitled to funeral honors without a
 6    federal request.

 7        (20 ILCS 1805/28.4 new)
 8        Sec. 28.4.  Eligibility. Only veterans and Governors  are
 9    eligible  for  military funeral honors under this Article. In
10    this Article, "veteran" means an Illinois resident who  is  a
11    veteran as defined in subsection (h) of Section 1491 of Title
12    10  of  the  United  States Code.  Governors are eligible for
13    military  funeral  honors  because  of   their   service   as
14    Commander-in-Chief  of  the  military  forces of the State of
15    Illinois.

16        (20 ILCS 1805/28.5 new)
17        Sec. 28.5.  Waiver authority.
18        (a)  With approval of the Governor, the Adjutant  General
19    may waive the requirement established in Section 28.3 of this
20    Article if the Adjutant General determines in writing that it
21    is in the best interests of the State of Illinois to do so.
22        (b)  Waiver authority under this Section may be delegated
23    only  to  the  Assistant  Adjutant  General  for  Army or the
24    Assistant Adjutant General for Air.

25        (20 ILCS 1805/28.6 new)
26        Sec. 28.6.  Policy.
27        (a)  A member of the  Army  National  Guard  or  the  Air
28    National  Guard  may  be  ordered  to  funeral honors duty in
29    accordance with this Article.  That member shall  receive  an
30    allowance of $50 for any day on which a minimum of 2 hours of
31    funeral  honors  duty  is performed.  Members of the Illinois
 
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 1    National Guard ordered to funeral honors duty  in  accordance
 2    with  this Article are considered to be in the active service
 3    of the State  for  all  purposes  except  for  pay,  and  the
 4    provisions of Sections 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56 of the Military
 5    Code  of  Illinois apply if a member of the Illinois National
 6    Guard is injured or disabled in the course of those duties.
 7        (b)  The Adjutant General may provide support  for  other
 8    authorized  providers  who  volunteer  to  participate  in  a
 9    funeral  honors  detail  conducted on behalf of the Governor.
10    This support is limited to transportation, reimbursement  for
11    transportation, expenses, materials, and training.

12        (20 ILCS 1805/28.8 new)
13        Sec.  28.8.  Rules.  The Adjutant General, as Director of
14    the Department of Military Affairs,  must  adopt  appropriate
15    rules to implement this program.

16        (20 ILCS 1805/28.9 new)
17        Sec.   28.9.  Availability  of  funds.  Nothing  in  this
18    Article  establishes  any  entitlement  to  military  funeral
19    honors if  the  Adjutant  General  determines  that  Illinois
20    National  Guard  personnel are not available to perform those
21    honors or if adequate appropriated funds are not available to
22    fund this program.

23        Section 99.  Effective date. This  Act  takes  effect  on
24    January 1, 2002.

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