Bill Text: IL HB2572 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Amends the School Code and the Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans' Dependents Educational Opportunity Grant Act. In provisions concerning the Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans' Dependents scholarship and the Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans' Dependents Educational Opportunity Grant program, provides that the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall determine, by rule, the eligibility of the persons who apply for the scholarship or grant (rather than the Department shall determine the eligibility of the persons who apply For the scholarship or grant).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-05 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Jason R. Bunting [HB2572 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB2572-Introduced.html

---

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2572 Introduced , by Rep. Brandun Schweizer SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/30-14.2 from Ch. 122, par. 30-14.2
330 ILCS 105/2 from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 27
Amends the School Code and the Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans' Dependents Educational Opportunity Grant Act. In provisions concerning the Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans' Dependents scholarship and the Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans' Dependents Educational Opportunity Grant program, provides that the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall determine, by rule, the eligibility of the persons who apply for the scholarship or grant (rather than the Department shall determine the eligibility of the persons who apply For the scholarship or grant).
LRB104 10059 KTG 20130 b
A BILL FOR
HB2572 LRB104 10059 KTG 20130 b
AN ACT concerning veterans.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
30-14.2 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/30-14.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 30-14.2)
Sec. 30-14.2. Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans'
Dependents scholarship.
(a) Any spouse, natural child, legally adopted child under
the age of 18 at the time of adoption, minor child younger than
18 who is under a court-ordered guardianship for at least 2
continuous years prior to application, or step-child under the
age of 18 at the time of marriage of an eligible veteran or
serviceperson who possesses all necessary entrance
requirements shall, upon application and proper proof, be
awarded a MIA/POW Scholarship consisting of the equivalent of
4 calendar years of full-time enrollment including summer
terms, to the state supported Illinois institution of higher
learning of his choice, subject to the restrictions listed
below.
"Eligible veteran or serviceperson" means any veteran or
serviceperson, including an Illinois National Guard member who
is on active duty or is active on a training assignment, who

HB2572 - 2 - LRB104 10059 KTG 20130 b
has been declared by the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs to be a prisoner of war or
missing in action, or has died as the result of a
service-connected disability or has become a person with a
permanent disability from service-connected causes with 100%
disability and who (i) at the time of entering service was an
Illinois resident, or (ii) was an Illinois resident within 6
months after entering such service, or (iii) is a resident of
Illinois at the time of application for the Scholarship and,
at some point after entering such service, was a resident of
Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years.
" Full-time enrollment" means 12 or more semester hours of
courses per semester, or 12 or more quarter hours of courses
per quarter, or the equivalent thereof per term. Scholarships
utilized by dependents enrolled in less than full-time study
shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours
so carried bears to full-time enrollment.
Scholarships awarded under this Section may be used by a
spouse or child without regard to his or her age. The holder of
a Scholarship awarded under this Section shall be subject to
all examinations and academic standards, including the
maintenance of minimum grade levels, that are applicable
generally to other enrolled students at the Illinois
institution of higher learning where the Scholarship is being
used. If the surviving spouse remarries or if there is a
divorce between the veteran or serviceperson and his or her

HB2572 - 3 - LRB104 10059 KTG 20130 b
spouse while the dependent is pursuing his or her course of
study, Scholarship benefits will be terminated at the end of
the term for which he or she is presently enrolled. Such
dependents shall also be entitled, upon proper proof and
application, to enroll in any extension course offered by a
State supported Illinois institution of higher learning
without payment of tuition and approved fees.
The holder of a MIA/POW Scholarship authorized under this
Section shall not be required to pay any tuition or mandatory
fees while attending a State-controlled university or public
community college in this State for a period equivalent to 4
years of enrollment, including summer terms.
Any dependent who has been or shall be awarded a MIA/POW
Scholarship shall be reimbursed by the appropriate institution
of higher learning for any fees which he or she has paid and
for which exemption is granted under this Section if
application for reimbursement is made within 2 months
following the end of the school term for which the fees were
paid.
(b) In lieu of the benefit provided in subsection (a), any
spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or step-child of
an eligible veteran or serviceperson, which spouse or child
has a physical, mental or developmental disability, shall be
entitled to receive, upon application and proper proof, a
benefit to be used for the purpose of defraying the cost of the
attendance or treatment of such spouse or child at one or more

HB2572 - 4 - LRB104 10059 KTG 20130 b
appropriate therapeutic, rehabilitative or educational
facilities. The application and proof may be made by the
parent or legal guardian of the spouse or child on his or her
behalf.
The total benefit provided to any beneficiary under this
subsection shall not exceed the cost equivalent of 4 calendar
years of full-time enrollment, including summer terms, at the
University of Illinois. Whenever practicable in the opinion of
the Department of Veterans' Affairs, payment of benefits under
this subsection shall be made directly to the facility, the
cost of attendance or treatment at which is being defrayed, as
such costs accrue.
(c) The benefits of this Section shall be administered by
and paid for out of funds made available to the Illinois
Department of Veterans' Affairs. The amounts that become due
to any state supported Illinois institution of higher learning
shall be payable by the Comptroller to such institution on
vouchers approved by the Illinois Department of Veterans'
Affairs. The amounts that become due under subsection (b) of
this Section shall be payable by warrant upon vouchers issued
by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs and approved
by the Comptroller. The Illinois Department of Veterans'
Affairs shall determine, by rule, the eligibility of the
persons who make application for the benefits provided for in
this Section.
(Source: P.A. 101-334, eff. 8-9-19; 102-855, eff. 5-13-22.)

HB2572 - 5 - LRB104 10059 KTG 20130 b
Section 10. The Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans'
Dependents Educational Opportunity Grant Act is amended by
changing Section 2 as follows:
(330 ILCS 105/2) (from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 27)
Sec. 2. The amounts that become due to any child under this
Act, not in excess of the amount specified in Section 1 of this
Act, shall be payable to such child or, if such child is a
minor, to the eligible veteran or serviceperson or guardian on
vouchers approved by the Illinois Department of Veterans'
Affairs. The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs shall
adopt rules on how to render payments to eligible minor
children of deceased veterans or servicepersons. The
Department shall determine, by rule, the eligibility of the
children who make application for the benefits provided for in
this Act; and satisfy itself of the attendance of such
children at any such institution or school.
(Source: P.A. 102-855, eff. 5-13-22.)