Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 52, December 27, 2024
a) A
qualified applicant shall be any member of the Armed Forces of the United
States, a reserve component of the Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard
who has served at least one year of federal active duty service and whose
service has been characterized as honorable, provided the applicant:
1) was a:
A)
resident of Illinois at the time of entering federal active duty service or
within 6 months prior to entering the service; or
B) student at an Illinois public university
or community college at the time of entering federal active duty service;
and
2) established or
plans to establish Illinois residency within 6 months after leaving federal
active duty service, or if married to a person in continued military service:
A) applied for this grant within 6 months
after and including the date that the spouse was stationed within Illinois;
or
B) established Illinois
residency within 6 months after and including the date that the spouse was
separated (if the spouse was stationed outside Illinois).
b) To use benefits, a qualified
applicant meeting the requirements of subsection (a) must reside in Illinois
while enrolled unless federal active duty is being served during the time of
enrollment or the qualified applicant is residing with a spouse in continued
military service who is currently stationed outside of Illinois.
c) An applicant who does not meet the
residency requirements in subsection (a) may be a qualified applicant if the
applicant:
1) resides in Illinois at the time
of application and while enrolled; and
2) has been a resident of Illinois for at
least 15 consecutive years at some point since leaving federal active
duty.
d) Any member of
the Armed Forces of the United States, a reserve component of the Armed Forces,
or the Illinois National Guard who has served at least one year of federal
active duty service and who meets the Illinois residency requirements of this
Section is a qualified applicant if the service was characterized as honorable.
An honorable discharge may include a discharge under other than
honorable conditions or general discharge under honorable conditions if only
due to a person's sexual orientation or gender identity but does not include a
bad conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. [5 ILCS
70/1.44] If the applicant is still in service, the
individual shall be subject to verification of continued eligibility for
assistance under this Part after each period of federal active duty
service.
e) A recipient must
maintain an acceptable grade point average as determined by the institution
pursuant to a published policy.
f)
An individual is not a qualified applicant unless the individual's service was
characterized as honorable for the most recent period of federal active duty
service.
g) An individual is not a
qualified applicant if the individual's federal active duty service was for
less than one year unless:
1) the applicant's
separation from such service for medical reasons directly connected with such
service was characterized as honorable; or
2) the applicant's separation prior to August
11, 1967 was characterized as honorable; or
3) the applicant's federal active duty
service, which included service in a foreign country in a time of hostilities
in that country, was characterized as honorable. As used in this Section, "time
of hostilities in a foreign country" means
any action by the Armed
Forces of the United States that is recognized by the issuance of a
Presidential proclamation or a Presidential executive order and in which the
Armed Forces expeditionary medal or other campaign service medals are awarded
according to Presidential executive order. [20 ILCS
947/40 ]
h) Members of the Reserve Officer Training
Corps (ROTC) are not eligible for assistance under this Part.
i) Applicants are not eligible if their only
service has been attendance at a service academy.
j) In order to establish eligibility for this
grant, an individual shall submit to ISAC an application and documentation of
all periods of service.
1) An applicant
should submit a copy of the Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active
Duty (DD Form 214) or Discharge Certificate, which can be obtained from the
National Personnel Records Center or the Illinois Department of Veterans'
Affairs, or other documentation as required.
2) If the applicant does not have a copy of
the DD Form 214, the applicant should submit documentation that provides the
following information: date of entry, date of separation, character of service,
total active service, home or place of entry into the service, and home or
place of separation from the service. The documentation must have been issued
by the United States Department of Defense (DD) or the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs.
3) If the
applicant is a member of the Armed Forces at the time of application, a letter
from the commanding officer shall be submitted. This letter must:
A) indicate that the applicant is a member of
the Armed Forces at the time of application;
B) include character of service;
C) include the veteran's home of record at
the time of original enlistment;
D)
state the individual's length of time in each period of federal active duty
service; and
E) state the
expiration date of the current enlistment.
4) The definition of "Resident of Illinois"
contained in 23 Ill. Adm. Code
2700.20 does not apply to the
Illinois Veteran Grant Program; rather, for the purposes of this program,
residency is established as stated in subsections (a) and (b) or (c). If the
applicant's DD Form 214 does not indicate Illinois residency when entering
and/or separating from the Armed Forces, and when any other residency
requirement is being verified, residency may be verified by providing one or
more of the documents listed in this subsection (j)(4). ISAC may choose to
request documents in addition to, or instead of, those listed. The dates
recorded on the documents must indicate the applicant has resided in Illinois
for the required period.
A) Illinois driver's
license issued during the relevant 6 month period;
B) Illinois high school or college
transcripts demonstrating attendance during the relevant 6 month
period;
C) Utility bills/rent
receipts in the applicant's name for the relevant 6 month period;
D) Illinois motor vehicle registration issued
during the relevant 6 month period;
E) Residential lease in the applicant's name
for the relevant 6 month period;
F)
Statement of benefits history from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and
Family Services for the relevant 6 month period;
G) Statement of benefits from the Illinois
Department of Employment Security for the relevant 6 month period;
H) State of Illinois identification card
issued during the relevant 6 month period; or
I) Letter of employment verified by
certification in accordance with Illinois law (see
735 ILCS
5/1-109) and printed on company letterhead.