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| 1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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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 Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | amended by changing Section 40 as follows:
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| 6 | (110 ILCS 947/40)
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| 7 | Sec. 40. Illinois Veteran grant program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | (a) As used in this Section: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | "Qualified applicant" means a person who served in the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component of the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard, excluding members | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and those whose only | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | service has been attendance at a service academy, and who meets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | all of the following qualifications: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | (1) At the time of entering federal active duty service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | the person was one of the following: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | (A) An Illinois resident. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | (B) An Illinois resident within 6 months of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | entering such service. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | (C) Enrolled at a State-controlled university or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | public community college in this State. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | (2) The person meets one of the following requirements: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | (A) He or she served at least one year of federal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | active duty. | ||||||
| 2 | (B) He or she served less than one year of federal | ||||||
| 3 | active duty and received an honorable discharge for | ||||||
| 4 | medical reasons directly connected with such service. | ||||||
| 5 | (C) He or she served less than one year of federal | ||||||
| 6 | active duty and was discharged prior to August 11, | ||||||
| 7 | 1967. | ||||||
| 8 | (D) He or she served less than one year of federal | ||||||
| 9 | active duty in a foreign country during a time of | ||||||
| 10 | hostilities in that foreign country. | ||||||
| 11 | (3) The person received an honorable discharge after | ||||||
| 12 | leaving each period of federal active duty service. | ||||||
| 13 | (4) The person returned to this State within 6 months | ||||||
| 14 | after leaving federal active duty service, or, if married | ||||||
| 15 | to a person in continued military service stationed outside | ||||||
| 16 | this State, returned to this State within 6 months after | ||||||
| 17 | his or her spouse left service or was stationed within this | ||||||
| 18 | State. | ||||||
| 19 | (5) Any assistance the person is eligible to receive | ||||||
| 20 | under the federal Post-9/11 Veterans Educational | ||||||
| 21 | Assistance Act of 2008 or the federal Post-9/11 Veterans | ||||||
| 22 | Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 has been | ||||||
| 23 | exhausted. | ||||||
| 24 | "Time of hostilities" means any action by the Armed Forces | ||||||
| 25 | of the United States that is recognized by the issuance of a | ||||||
| 26 | Presidential proclamation or a Presidential executive order | ||||||
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| 1 | and in which the Armed Forces expeditionary medal or other | ||||||
| 2 | campaign service medals are awarded according to Presidential | ||||||
| 3 | executive order. | ||||||
| 4 | (b) A person who otherwise qualifies under subsection (a) | ||||||
| 5 | of this Section but has not left federal active duty service | ||||||
| 6 | and has served at least one year of federal active duty or has | ||||||
| 7 | served for less than one year of federal active duty in a | ||||||
| 8 | foreign country during a time of hostilities in that foreign | ||||||
| 9 | country and who can provide documentation demonstrating an | ||||||
| 10 | honorable service record is eligible to receive assistance | ||||||
| 11 | under this Section. | ||||||
| 12 | (c) A qualified applicant is not required to pay any | ||||||
| 13 | tuition or mandatory fees while attending a State-controlled | ||||||
| 14 | university or public community college in this State for a | ||||||
| 15 | period that is equivalent to 4 years of full-time enrollment, | ||||||
| 16 | including summer terms. | ||||||
| 17 | A qualified applicant who has previously received benefits | ||||||
| 18 | under this Section for a non-mandatory fee shall continue to | ||||||
| 19 | receive benefits covering such fees while he or she is enrolled | ||||||
| 20 | in a continuous program of study. The qualified applicant shall | ||||||
| 21 | no longer receive a grant covering non-mandatory fees if he or | ||||||
| 22 | she fails to enroll during an academic term, unless he or she | ||||||
| 23 | is serving federal active duty service.
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| 24 | (d) A qualified applicant who has been or is to be awarded | ||||||
| 25 | assistance under this Section shall receive that assistance if | ||||||
| 26 | the qualified applicant notifies his or her postsecondary | ||||||
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| 1 | institution of that fact by the end of the school term for | ||||||
| 2 | which assistance is requested. | ||||||
| 3 | (e) Assistance under this Section is considered an | ||||||
| 4 | entitlement that the State-controlled college or public | ||||||
| 5 | community college in which the qualified applicant is enrolled | ||||||
| 6 | shall honor without any condition other than the qualified | ||||||
| 7 | applicant's maintenance of minimum grade levels and a | ||||||
| 8 | satisfactory student loan repayment record pursuant to | ||||||
| 9 | subsection (c) of Section 20 of this Act. | ||||||
| 10 | (f) The Commission shall administer the grant program | ||||||
| 11 | established by this Section and shall make all necessary and | ||||||
| 12 | proper rules not inconsistent with this Section for its | ||||||
| 13 | effective implementation. | ||||||
| 14 | (g) All applications for assistance under this Section must | ||||||
| 15 | be made to the Commission on forms that the Commission shall | ||||||
| 16 | provide. The Commission shall determine the form of application | ||||||
| 17 | and the information required to be set forth in the | ||||||
| 18 | application, and the Commission shall require qualified | ||||||
| 19 | applicants to submit with their applications any supporting | ||||||
| 20 | documents that the Commission deems necessary. Upon request, | ||||||
| 21 | the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall assist the Commission | ||||||
| 22 | in determining the eligibility of applicants for assistance | ||||||
| 23 | under this Section. | ||||||
| 24 | (h) Assistance under this Section is available as long as | ||||||
| 25 | the federal government provides educational benefits to | ||||||
| 26 | veterans. Assistance must not be paid under this Section after | ||||||
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| 1 | 6 months following the termination of educational benefits to | ||||||
| 2 | veterans by the federal government, except for persons who | ||||||
| 3 | already have begun their education with assistance under this | ||||||
| 4 | Section. If the federal government terminates educational | ||||||
| 5 | benefits to veterans and at a later time resumes those | ||||||
| 6 | benefits, assistance under this Section shall resume.
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| 7 | (Source: P.A. 94-583, eff. 8-15-05.)
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