Bill Text: IL SB1394 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the Illinois Joining Forces Foundation.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-09 - Session Sine Die [SB1394 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-SB1394-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 SB1394 Introduced 2/9/2017, by Sen. Michael E. Hastings SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
20 ILCS 2805/37
Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the Illinois Joining Forces Foundation.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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 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 present. The

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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
Discharged Servicemember Task Force and 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;
(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
(6) outreaching directly to service members, veterans,
and their families regarding the no-wrong-door system that
Illinois Joining Forces provides to them.

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(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. The Foundation's Board of Directors
shall be appointed as follows: one member appointed by the

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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; 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. 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 Section does not count towards a quorum.
The Director of Veterans' Affairs 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 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,

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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) As soon as practicable after the Foundation is created,
the Board of Directors shall meet, organize, and 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. 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

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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 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. The Department of Military
Affairs and the Department of Veterans' Affairs 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

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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 funded by the
Department of Veterans' Affairs or the Department of Military
Affairs.
(Source: P.A. 98-986, eff. 8-18-14.)