Public Act 096-0822
 
SB2148 Enrolled LRB096 10489 JDS 20661 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    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 (i) 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; (ii) for the
casualty-based grant only: Illinois National Guard members or
Illinois residents who are members of the reserves of the armed
forces of the United States and who, while deployed in support
of operations as a result of the September 11th terrorist
attacks, sustained an injury as a result of terrorist activity;
sustained an injury in combat, or related to combat, as a
direct result of hostile action; or sustained an injury going
to or returning from a combat mission, provided that the
incident leading to the injury was directly related to hostile
action; this includes injuries to service members who are
wounded mistakenly or accidentally by friendly fire directed at
a hostile force or what is thought to be a hostile force; and
(iii) to families of the classes of persons listed in items (i)
and (ii) of this Section 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 all the grants by
rule.
    On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 96th General Assembly, the Department must award at least
$5,000 to each recipient of a casualty-based grant and must
include Illinois residents who are active duty members of the
armed forces of the United States in the eligibility for the
casualty-based grant in item (ii) of this Section. Each
recipient may receive only one casualty-based grant for
injuries received during, or arising out of, the same
engagement or incident.
    Grants awarded from the Illinois Military Family Relief
Fund shall not be subject to garnishment, wage levy,
forfeiture, or other remedy, unless the denial of that remedy
is inconsistent with the requirements of any other State or
federal law.
    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. To prevent a delay of 30 or more days in the payment
of casualty-based grants, the Department may use, for
administration of the program, as much as 5% of the
appropriations designated for the casualty-based grant
program.
(Source: P.A. 92-886, eff. 2-7-03; 93-506, eff. 8-11-03;
93-976, eff. 8-20-04.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.