Bill Text: IL HB5542 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act. Deletes the term "no-wrong-door" in provisions regarding the system of support for service members, veterans, and their families. Removes provisions requiring the Illinois Joining Forces Foundation (Foundation) to utilize working groups when convening military and veteran support organizations and when providing policy recommendations that benefit service members, veterans, and their families. Removes provisions requiring the Foundation to facilitate the transfer of information and knowledge among Illinois Joining Forces member organizations. Makes changes to the definition of "veterans service organization". Provides that the Foundation may also include up to 18 additional voting members of the Board of Directors: 9 members to be nominated and approved by the Board of Directors according to the Foundation's bylaws, and 9 members to be nominated by the Director of Veterans' Affairs or the Director of Military Affairs. Provides that, to ensure parity, no additional nominees may be considered by the Board of Directors unless a like appointment is made by the Department of Veterans' Affairs or the Department of Military Affairs, and vice versa. Provides that, in consultation with the Foundation's Board of Directors, the Department of Veterans' Affairs or the Department of Military Affairs may adopt other rules deemed necessary to govern Foundation procedures (rather than the Department of Veterans' Affairs may adopt rules in consultation with the Department of Military Affairs). Permits the Foundation to receive services, including, but not limited to, contractual services, provided by either the Department of Veterans' Affairs or the Department of Military Affairs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2023-01-05 - Passed Both Houses [HB5542 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB5542-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning veterans.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Department of Veterans' Affairs Act is
amended by changing Section 37 as follows:
(20 ILCS 2805/37)
Sec. 37. Illinois Joining Forces Foundation.
(a) The General Assembly finds that navigating the "sea of
goodwill" for those who serve in uniform is one of the greatest
challenges that transitioning veterans face; as a result, they
risk being unable to access many of the federal, State, and
non-profit resources available to them. Recognizing this
problem, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the
Department of Military Affairs acted to establish the Illinois
Joining Forces initiative, a public-private network of
military and veteran-serving organizations that are working
together, in person and online, to create a no-wrong-door
system of support for the State's military and veteran
communities. Illinois Joining Forces is a nation-leading
model, awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and
the National Association of State Directors of Veterans
Affairs for its groundbreaking work in creating smarter,
collaborative community support for those in uniform, past and

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present. The foundation created by this amendatory Act of the
98th General Assembly will serve to ensure the long-term
sustainability of Illinois Joining Forces, which is critically
important for the support of the State's military and veteran
communities.
(b) The Illinois Joining Forces Foundation shall benefit
service members, veterans, and their families by:
(1) convening military and veteran support
organizations, through Illinois Joining Forces working
groups, to build cross-sector relationships and mutual
awareness;
(2) providing policy recommendations through Illinois
Joining Forces member working groups to the Illinois
Veterans' Advisory Council;
(3) facilitating the transfer of information and
knowledge among Illinois Joining Forces member
organizations;
(4) maintaining and continuing to build the
no-wrong-door online navigation platform;
(3) (5) educating Illinois Joining Forces members and
other community providers regarding military and veteran
culture and needs, thus improving the collective capacity
of the support system; and
(4) (6) outreaching directly to service members,
veterans, and their families regarding the no-wrong-door
system of support that Illinois Joining Forces provides to

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them.
(c) For the purpose of this Section, "veterans service
organization" means an organization that meets all of the
following criteria:
(1) The organization is formed by and for United
States military veterans.
(2) The organization is chartered by the United States
Congress and incorporated in the State of Illinois.
(3) The organization has maintained a State
headquarters office in Illinois for the 10-year period
immediately preceding the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
(4) The organization maintains at least one office in
this State, staffed by a veterans service officer.
(5) The organization is capable of preparing a power
of attorney for a veteran and processing claims for
veterans services.
(6) The organization is not funded by the State of
Illinois or by any county in this State.
(d) The General Assembly authorizes the Department of
Veterans' Affairs, in accordance with Section 10 of the State
Agency Entity Creation Act, to create the Illinois Joining
Forces Foundation as a not-for-profit foundation. The
Department shall file articles of incorporation as required
under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 to
create the Foundation.

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The Foundation's Board of Directors shall be appointed as
follows: one member appointed by the Governor; one member
appointed by the President of the Senate; one member appointed
by the Minority Leader of the Senate; one member appointed by
the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and one member
appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives; and all of the members of the Illinois
Joining Forces Executive Committee, who shall be appointed by
the Director of Veterans' Affairs.
The Foundation may also include up to 18 additional voting
members of the Board of Directors: up to 9 members to be
nominated and approved by the Board of Directors according to
the Foundation's bylaws, and up to 9 members to be appointed by
the Director of Veterans' Affairs or the Director of Military
Affairs. The Board shall have an equal number of board or
department appointed members. To ensure parity, no additional
nominee may be considered by the Board of Directors unless a
like appointment is made by the Department of Veterans'
Affairs or the Department of Military Affairs, and vice versa.
In addition to any veterans service organization
otherwise represented on the Board of Directors, a veterans
service organization may designate in writing an ex officio,
non-voting participant to the Board of Directors. Any veterans
service organization appointee under this provision Section
does not count towards a quorum.
The Director of Veterans' Affairs, or the Director's

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designee, and a designee chosen by the Director of Military
Affairs who is a senior management official of the Department
of Military Affairs with the authority to make decisions on
behalf of the agency shall serve as members of the
Foundation's Board of Directors. Board of Director
appointments shall be for 2-year terms. Vacancies shall be
filled by the official who made the statutory appointment
recommendation for the vacated appointment. No member of the
Board of Directors may receive compensation for his or her
services to the Foundation. Upon appointment, the Board of
Directors, as members of a public entity, shall be represented
and indemnified pursuant to the requirements of the State
Employee Indemnification Act.
(e) The purposes of the Foundation are to: promote,
support, assist, and sustain Illinois Joining Forces
operations; solicit and accept grants and private donations
and disburse them for the stated intent of the Foundation or
the private donor; solicit and generate public and private
funding and donations that assist in enhancing the Illinois
Joining Forces mission, services, programs, and operations;
and engage generally in other lawful endeavors consistent with
the foregoing purposes. The foundation shall operate within
the provisions of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act
of 1986.
(f) The As soon as practicable after the Foundation is
created, the Board of Directors shall meet, organize, and

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designate, by majority vote, a chairperson, a treasurer, a
secretary, and any additional officers that may be needed to
carry out the activities of the Foundation and shall adopt
bylaws of the Foundation. In consultation with the
Foundation's Board of Directors, the Department of Veterans'
Affairs or the Department of Military Affairs may provide
assistance in adopting other rules deemed necessary to govern
Foundation procedures. The Department of Veterans' Affairs, in
consultation with the Department of Military Affairs, may
adopt other rules deemed necessary to govern Foundation
procedures.
(g) The Foundation may request and accept gifts, grants,
donations, or bequests from the federal government or its
agencies or officers or from any person, firm, or corporation,
and may expend receipts on activities that it considers
suitable to the performance of its duties under this Section
and consistent with any requirement of the grant, gift,
donation, or bequest. Funds collected by the Foundation shall
be considered private funds and shall be held in an
appropriate account outside of the State treasury. Private
funds collected by the Foundation are not subject to the
Public Funds Investment Act. The treasurer of the Foundation
shall be the custodian of all Foundation funds. The treasurer
shall be required to obtain a fidelity or surety bond on
satisfactory terms and in sufficient amounts to protect the
interests of the Foundation, the cost of which shall be

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reimbursed by the Foundation. The Foundation and its officers
shall be responsible for the approval of the recording of
receipts, approval of payments, and the proper filing of
required reports. The Foundation may be assisted in carrying
out its functions by Department of Military Affairs and
Department of Veterans' Affairs personnel as determined by the
respective Directors. The Department of Military Affairs and
the Department of Veterans' Affairs may shall provide
reasonable assistance to the Foundation to achieve the
purposes of the Foundation as determined by the respective
Directors. The Foundation shall cooperate fully with the
boards, commissions, agencies, departments, and institutions
of the State. The funds held and made available by the Illinois
Joining Forces Foundation shall be subject to financial and
compliance audits in accordance with the Illinois State
Auditing Act. The Foundation shall not have any power of
eminent domain. The Foundation shall not construct or make any
permanent improvements to any real property.
(h) The Foundation must provide a written notice to any
entity providing a gift, grant, donation, or bequest to the
Foundation that the Foundation is not subject to the
provisions of the Public Funds Investment Act, which Act
places limitations on the types of securities in which a
public agency may invest public funds.
(i) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the
Foundation is not eligible for any grant administered or

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funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs or the
Department of Military Affairs, but may receive services,
including, but not limited to, contractual services, provided
by either Department.
(Source: P.A. 100-10, eff. 6-30-17.)