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| | HB0359 Enrolled | | LRB102 11611 KTG 16945 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning military service.
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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 Department of Veterans' Affairs Act is |
| 5 | | amended by adding Section 39 as follows:
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| 6 | | (20 ILCS 2805/39 new) |
| 7 | | Sec. 39. Veterans' Accountability Unit. |
| 8 | | (a) The Department shall create a Veterans' Accountability |
| 9 | | Unit which shall receive complaints and recommendations from: |
| 10 | | (i) veterans and other Illinois residents who seek services |
| 11 | | from the Department; (ii) residents of Veterans' Homes, their |
| 12 | | families, and visitors; (iii) vendors and contractors of the |
| 13 | | Department; and (iv) staff of the Department. |
| 14 | | (b) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall |
| 15 | | confirm, the Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit. |
| 16 | | The Director shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. |
| 17 | | (c) The Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit |
| 18 | | shall ensure that the Unit maintains regular office hours and |
| 19 | | establishes both a toll-free helpline and a dedicated |
| 20 | | electronic mail address for the purpose of accepting |
| 21 | | complaints, information, and recommendations. The Director |
| 22 | | shall provide a reasonable means for receiving complaints |
| 23 | | outside of office hours. |
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| 1 | | (d) The Veterans' Accountability Unit shall function |
| 2 | | independently of the Department. The salary and benefits of |
| 3 | | the Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit and any |
| 4 | | other staff of the Unit, as deemed necessary by the Director, |
| 5 | | along with all other expenses of the Unit shall be paid from |
| 6 | | appropriations to the Department. |
| 7 | | (e) The Director and staff of the Veterans' Accountability |
| 8 | | Unit shall have the authority to access the offices or |
| 9 | | facilities of the Department and the Veterans' Homes and shall |
| 10 | | have access to all information, documents, and personnel of |
| 11 | | the Department as needed to perform the duties of the |
| 12 | | Veterans' Accountability Unit. It is the duty of every |
| 13 | | employee of the Department to cooperate with the Veterans' |
| 14 | | Accountability Unit. The Department shall provide the staff of |
| 15 | | the Veterans' Accountability Unit with physical space in each |
| 16 | | Department office and in each Veterans' Home to conduct |
| 17 | | confidential business as needed to perform the work of the |
| 18 | | Veterans' Accountability Unit. |
| 19 | | (f) The Veterans' Accountability Unit shall ensure all |
| 20 | | complaints, allegations, or incidents of possible misconduct, |
| 21 | | misfeasance, malfeasance, or violations of rules, procedures, |
| 22 | | or laws by any employee, service provider, or contractor of |
| 23 | | the Department are reported to the Office of Executive |
| 24 | | Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor. |
| 25 | | (g) The Office of Executive Inspector General for the |
| 26 | | Agencies of the Illinois Governor shall assess the complaints, |
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| 1 | | allegations, and incidents and shall determine whether to (i) |
| 2 | | investigate, (ii) refer to the appropriate agency, (iii) refer |
| 3 | | to any appropriate law enforcement agency, (iv) request a |
| 4 | | response from the Department to the complaint, allegations, or |
| 5 | | incident, or (v) refer to the Veterans' Accountability Unit to |
| 6 | | conduct further inquiry or review if necessary. |
| 7 | | (h) The Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit may |
| 8 | | recommend changes to the Director of Veterans' Affairs |
| 9 | | concerning Department policies or practices based upon |
| 10 | | information learned or observations made by the Veterans' |
| 11 | | Accountability Unit staff during the course of its duties. The |
| 12 | | Director of the Veterans' Accountability Unit shall meet |
| 13 | | regularly with the Office of Executive Inspector General for |
| 14 | | the Agencies of the Illinois Governor to report this |
| 15 | | information to allow the Office to determine whether further |
| 16 | | investigation is necessary. |
| 17 | | (i) The Veterans' Accountability Unit shall create an |
| 18 | | annual report that includes a summary of the complaints |
| 19 | | received and actions taken in response. This report shall not |
| 20 | | include any referrals to the Office of Executive Inspector |
| 21 | | General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor that result |
| 22 | | in an investigation. The summaries shall not contain any |
| 23 | | confidential or identifying information concerning the |
| 24 | | subjects or complainants of the reports and investigations. |
| 25 | | (j) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations by |
| 26 | | the Department of Veterans' Affairs that may otherwise be
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