Bill Text: IL SB2988 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act. Creates the Veterans Home of Central Illinois Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Establishes the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois. Provides that receipts attributable to the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois shall be deposited into the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois Fund. Provides that the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois Fund shall be the Veterans Home Fund for the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois. Provides that any unused real property held by the Department of Juvenile Justice for operating the Lincoln Developmental Center may be used for the operation or expansion of the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois or for any purpose related to the benefit or care of the Home's residents. Makes a corresponding change in the State Finance Act. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-10 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB2988 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SB2988-Introduced.html


102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2988

Introduced 1/5/2022, by Sen. Sally J. Turner

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
20 ILCS 2805/2i new
20 ILCS 2805/2.01 from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67.01
20 ILCS 2805/2.01d new
20 ILCS 2805/2.03 from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67.03
20 ILCS 2805/2.04 from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67.04
30 ILCS 105/5.970 new

Amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act. Creates the Veterans Home of Central Illinois Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Establishes the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois. Provides that receipts attributable to the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois shall be deposited into the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois Fund. Provides that the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois Fund shall be the Veterans Home Fund for the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois. Provides that any unused real property held by the Department of Juvenile Justice for operating the Lincoln Developmental Center may be used for the operation or expansion of the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois or for any purpose related to the benefit or care of the Home's residents. Makes a corresponding change in the State Finance Act. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning veterans.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Department of Veterans' Affairs Act is
5amended by changing Sections 2.01, 2.03 and 2.04 and by adding
6Sections 2i and 2.01d as follows:
7 (20 ILCS 2805/2i new)
8 Sec. 2i. The Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois
9Fund. The Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois Fund is
10hereby created as a special fund in the State treasury. From
11appropriations to the Department from the Fund, the Department
12shall purchase equipment and supplies to enhance the lives of
13the residents at veterans' homes in central Illinois and for
14the operation of such homes, including capital improvements,
15building rehabilitation, and repairs.
16 (20 ILCS 2805/2.01) (from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67.01)
17 Sec. 2.01. Veterans Home admissions.
18 (a) Any honorably discharged veteran is entitled to
19admission to an Illinois Veterans Home if the applicant meets
20the requirements of this Section.
21 (b) The veteran must:
22 (1) have served in the armed forces of the United

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1 States at least 1 day in World War II, the Korean Conflict,
2 the Viet Nam Campaign, or the Persian Gulf Conflict
3 between the dates recognized by the U.S. Department of
4 Veterans Affairs or between any other present or future
5 dates recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans
6 Affairs as a war period, or have served in a hostile fire
7 environment and has been awarded a campaign or
8 expeditionary medal signifying his or her service, for
9 purposes of eligibility for domiciliary or nursing home
10 care;
11 (2) have served and been honorably discharged or
12 retired from the armed forces of the United States for a
13 service connected disability or injury, for purposes of
14 eligibility for domiciliary or nursing home care;
15 (3) have served as an enlisted person at least 90 days
16 on active duty in the armed forces of the United States,
17 excluding service on active duty for training purposes
18 only, and entered active duty before September 8, 1980,
19 for purposes of eligibility for domiciliary or nursing
20 home care;
21 (4) have served as an officer at least 90 days on
22 active duty in the armed forces of the United States,
23 excluding service on active duty for training purposes
24 only, and entered active duty before October 17, 1981, for
25 purposes of eligibility for domiciliary or nursing home
26 care;

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1 (5) have served on active duty in the armed forces of
2 the United States for 24 months of continuous service or
3 more, excluding active duty for training purposes only,
4 and enlisted after September 7, 1980, for purposes of
5 eligibility for domiciliary or nursing home care;
6 (6) have served as a reservist in the armed forces of
7 the United States or the National Guard and the service
8 included being called to federal active duty, excluding
9 service on active duty for training purposes only, and who
10 completed the term, for purposes of eligibility for
11 domiciliary or nursing home care;
12 (7) have been discharged for reasons of hardship or
13 released from active duty due to a reduction in the United
14 States armed forces prior to the completion of the
15 required period of service, regardless of the actual time
16 served, for purposes of eligibility for domiciliary or
17 nursing home care; or
18 (8) have served in the National Guard or Reserve
19 Forces of the United States and completed 20 years of
20 satisfactory service, be otherwise eligible to receive
21 reserve or active duty retirement benefits, and have been
22 an Illinois resident for at least one year before applying
23 for admission for purposes of eligibility for domiciliary
24 care only.
25 (c) The veteran must have service accredited to the State
26of Illinois or have been a resident of this State for one year

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1immediately preceding the date of application.
2 (d) For admission to the the Illinois Veterans Home of
3Central Illinois and Illinois Veterans Homes at Anna and
4Quincy, the veteran must have developed a disability by
5disease, wounds, or otherwise and because of the disability be
6incapable of earning a living.
7 (e) For admission to the Illinois Veterans Homes at
8Chicago, LaSalle, and Manteno, the veteran must have developed
9a disability by disease, wounds, or otherwise and, for
10purposes of eligibility for nursing home care, require nursing
11care because of the disability.
12 (f) An individual who served during a time of conflict as
13set forth in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Section
14has preference over all other qualifying candidates, for
15purposes of eligibility for domiciliary or nursing home care
16at any Illinois Veterans Home.
17 (g) A veteran or spouse, once admitted to an Illinois
18Veterans Home facility, is considered a resident for
19interfacility purposes.
20 (h) A non-veteran spouse shall only have the same priority
21for admission to a Veterans Home as a veteran if the
22non-veteran spouse and his or her veteran spouse are admitted
23at the same time to live together at the Veterans Home.
24(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-314, eff. 8-7-15;
2599-642, eff. 7-28-16; 100-392, eff. 8-25-17; 100-942, eff.
261-1-19.)

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1 (20 ILCS 2805/2.01d new)
2 Sec. 2.01d. Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois.
3The Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois is established.
4The Department shall operate and maintain the Illinois
5Veterans Home of Central Illinois.
6 (20 ILCS 2805/2.03) (from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67.03)
7 Sec. 2.03. Admissions. Admissions to an Illinois Veterans
8Home are subject to the rules and regulations adopted by the
9Department of Veterans' Affairs to govern the admission of
10applicants.
11 Each resident of a Home is liable for the payment of sums
12representing maintenance charges for care at the Home at a
13rate to be determined by the Department, based on the
14resident's ability to pay. However, the charges shall not
15exceed the average annual per capita cost of maintaining the
16resident in the Home. The Department, upon being furnished
17proof of payment, shall in its discretion make allowances for
18unusual expenses in determining the ability of the resident to
19pay maintenance charges.
20 The basis upon which the payment of maintenance charges
21shall be calculated by the Department is the average per
22capita cost for the care of all residents at each Home for the
23fiscal year immediately preceding the period for which the
24rate for each Home is being calculated.

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1 The Department may require residents to pay charges
2monthly, quarterly, or otherwise as may be most suitably
3arranged for the individual members. The amounts received from
4each Home for the charges shall be transmitted to the
5Treasurer of the State of Illinois for deposit in each
6Veterans Home Fund, respectively, except that receipts
7attributable to the Illinois Veterans Home at Chicago shall be
8deposited into the Illinois Veterans' Homes Fund, and receipts
9attributable to the Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois
10shall be deposited into the Illinois Veterans Home of Central
11Illinois Fund.
12 The Department may investigate the financial condition of
13residents of a Home to determine their ability to pay
14maintenance charges and to establish standards as a basis of
15judgment for such determination. Such standards shall be
16recomputed periodically to reflect changes in the cost of
17living and other pertinent factors.
18 Refusal to pay the maintenance charges is cause for
19discharge of a resident from a Home.
20 The Department may collect any medical or health benefits
21to which a resident may become entitled through tax supported
22or privately financed systems of insurance, as a result of his
23or her care or treatment in the facilities provided by the
24Department, or because of care or treatment in other
25facilities when such care or treatment has been paid for by the
26Department.

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1 Admission of a resident is not limited or conditioned in
2any manner by the financial status of the resident or his or
3her ability to pay maintenance charges.
4 The Department may accept and hold on behalf of the State,
5if for the public interest, a grant, gift, devise, or bequest
6of money or property to the Department made in trust for the
7maintenance or support of a resident of an Illinois Veterans
8Home or for any other legitimate purpose. The Department shall
9cause each gift, grant, devise, or bequest to be kept as a
10distinct fund and shall invest the same in the manner provided
11by the laws of this State relating to securities in which the
12deposit in savings banks may be invested. However, the
13Department may, at its discretion, deposit in a proper trust
14company, bank, or savings bank, during the continuance of the
15trust, any fund left in trust for the life of a person and
16shall adopt rules and regulations governing the deposit,
17transfer, or withdrawal of the fund. The Department shall, on
18the expiration of any trust as provided in any instrument
19creating the trust, dispose of the fund in the manner provided
20in the instrument. The Department shall include in its
21required reports a statement showing what funds are so held by
22it and the condition of the funds; provided that monies found
23on residents at the time of their admission or accruing to them
24during their residence at a Home and monies deposited with the
25administrators by relatives, guardians, or friends of
26residents for the special comfort and pleasure of the resident

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1shall remain in the custody of the administrators who shall
2act as trustees for disbursement to, on behalf of, or for the
3benefit of the resident. All types of retirement and pension
4benefits from private and public sources may be paid directly
5to the administrator of a Home for deposit to the resident
6trust fund account.
7(Source: P.A. 100-392, eff. 8-25-17.)
8 (20 ILCS 2805/2.04) (from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67.04)
9 Sec. 2.04. There shall be established in the State
10Treasury special funds known as (i) the LaSalle Veterans Home
11Fund, (ii) the Anna Veterans Home Fund, (iii) the Manteno
12Veterans Home Fund, and (iv) the Quincy Veterans Home Fund.
13All moneys received by an Illinois Veterans Home from Medicare
14and from maintenance charges to veterans, spouses, and
15surviving spouses residing at that Home shall be paid into
16that Home's Fund. All moneys received from the U.S. Department
17of Veterans Affairs for patient care shall be transmitted to
18the Treasurer of the State for deposit in the Veterans Home
19Fund for the Home in which the veteran resides. Appropriations
20shall be made from a Fund only for the needs of the Home,
21including capital improvements, building rehabilitation, and
22repairs. The Illinois Veterans' Homes Fund shall be the
23Veterans Home Fund for the Illinois Veterans Home at Chicago.
24The Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois Fund shall be
25the Veterans Home Fund for the Illinois Veterans Home of

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1Central Illinois.
2 The administrator of each Veterans Home shall establish a
3locally held locally-held member's benefits fund. The Director
4may authorize the Veterans Home to conduct limited fundraising
5in accordance with applicable laws and regulations for which
6the sole purpose is to benefit the Veterans Home's member's
7benefits fund. Revenues accruing to an Illinois Veterans Home,
8including any donations, grants for the operation of the Home,
9profits from commissary stores, and funds received from any
10individual or other source, including limited fundraising,
11shall be deposited into that Home's benefits fund.
12Expenditures from the benefits funds shall be solely for the
13special comfort, pleasure, and amusement of residents.
14Contributors of unsolicited private donations may specify the
15purpose for which the private donations are to be used.
16 Upon request of the Department, the State's Attorney of
17the county in which a resident or living former resident of an
18Illinois Veterans Home who is liable under this Act for
19payment of sums representing maintenance charges resides shall
20file an action in a court of competent jurisdiction against
21any such person who fails or refuses to pay such sums. The
22court may order the payment of sums due to maintenance charges
23for such period or periods of time as the circumstances
24require.
25 Upon the death of a person who is or has been a resident of
26an Illinois Veterans Home who is liable for maintenance

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1charges and who is possessed of property, the Department may
2present a claim for such sum or for the balance due in case
3less than the rate prescribed under this Act has been paid. The
4claim shall be allowed and paid as other lawful claims against
5the estate.
6 The administrator of each Veterans Home shall establish a
7locally held locally-held trust fund to maintain moneys held
8for residents. Whenever the Department finds it necessary to
9preserve order, preserve health, or enforce discipline, the
10resident shall deposit in a trust account at the Home such
11monies from any source of income as may be determined
12necessary, and disbursement of these funds to the resident
13shall be made only by direction of the administrator.
14 If a resident of an Illinois Veterans Home has a dependent
15child, spouse, or parent the administrator may require that
16all monies received be deposited in a trust account with
17dependency contributions being made at the direction of the
18administrator. The balance retained in the trust account shall
19be disbursed to the resident at the time of discharge from the
20Home or to his or her heirs or legal representative at the time
21of the resident's death, subject to Department regulations or
22order of the court.
23 The Director of Central Management Services, with the
24consent of the Director of Veterans' Affairs, is authorized
25and empowered to lease or let any real property held by the
26Department of Veterans' Affairs for an Illinois Veterans Home

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1to entities or persons upon terms and conditions which are
2considered to be in the best interest of that Home. The real
3property must not be needed for any direct or immediate
4purpose of the Home. In any leasing or letting, primary
5consideration shall be given to the use of real property for
6agricultural purposes, and all moneys received shall be
7transmitted to the Treasurer of the State for deposit in the
8appropriate Veterans Home Fund.
9 Any unused real property held by the Department of
10Juvenile Justice for operating the Lincoln Developmental
11Center may be used for the operation or expansion of the
12Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois or for any purpose
13related to the benefit or care of the Home's residents.
14 Each administrator of an Illinois Veterans Home who has an
15established locally held locally-held member's benefits fund
16shall prepare and submit to the Department a monthly report of
17all donations received, including donations of a nonmonetary
18nature. The report shall include the end of month balance of
19the locally held locally-held member's benefits fund.
20(Source: P.A. 102-549, eff. 1-1-22; revised 12-1-21.)
21 Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
22Section 5.970 as follows:
23 (30 ILCS 105/5.970 new)
24 Sec. 5.970. The Illinois Veterans Home of Central Illinois

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1Fund.
2 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.
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