Section 2733.20  Applicant Eligibility

a)         A qualified applicant shall be any member of the Armed Forces of the United States, a reserve component of the Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard who has served at least one year of federal active duty service and whose service has been characterized as honorable, provided the applicant:

1)         was a:

A)        resident of Illinois at the time of entering federal active duty service or within 6 months prior to entering the service; or

B)        student at an Illinois public university or community college at the time of entering federal active duty service; and

2)         established or plans to establish Illinois residency within 6 months after leaving federal active duty service, or if married to a person in continued military service:

A)        applied for this grant within 6 months after and including the date that the spouse was stationed within Illinois; or

B)        established Illinois residency within 6 months after and including the date that the spouse was separated (if the spouse was stationed outside Illinois).

b)         To use benefits, a qualified applicant meeting the requirements of subsection (a) must reside in Illinois while enrolled unless federal active duty is being served during the time of enrollment or the qualified applicant is residing with a spouse in continued military service who is currently stationed outside of Illinois.

c)         An applicant who does not meet the residency requirements in subsection (a) may be a qualified applicant if the applicant:

1)         resides in Illinois at the time of application and while enrolled; and

2)         has been a resident of Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years at some point since leaving federal active duty.

d)         Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States, a reserve component of the Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard who has served at least one year of federal active duty service and who meets the Illinois residency requirements of this Section is a qualified applicant if the service was characterized as honorable.  An honorable discharge may include a discharge under other than honorable conditions or general discharge under honorable conditions if only due to a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity but does not include a bad conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. [5 ILCS 70/1.44]  If the applicant is still in service, the individual shall be subject to verification of continued eligibility for assistance under this Part after each period of federal active duty service.

e)         A recipient must maintain an acceptable grade point average as determined by the institution pursuant to a published policy.

f)         An individual is not a qualified applicant unless the individual's service was characterized as honorable for the most recent period of federal active duty service.

g)         An individual is not a qualified applicant if the individual's federal active duty service was for less than one year unless:

1)         the applicant's separation from such service for medical reasons directly connected with such service was characterized as honorable; or

2)         the applicant's separation prior to August 11, 1967 was characterized as honorable; or

3)         the applicant's federal active duty service, which included service in a foreign country in a time of hostilities in that country, was characterized as honorable.  As used in this Section, "time of hostilities in a foreign country" means any action by the Armed Forces of the United States that is recognized by the issuance of a Presidential proclamation or a Presidential executive order and in which the Armed Forces expeditionary medal or other campaign service medals are awarded according to Presidential executive order. [20 ILCS 947/40]

h)         Members of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) are not eligible for assistance under this Part.

i)          Applicants are not eligible if their only service has been attendance at a service academy.

j)          In order to establish eligibility for this grant, an individual shall submit to ISAC an application and documentation of all periods of service.

1)         An applicant should submit a copy of the Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty (DD Form 214) or Discharge Certificate, which can be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center or the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, or other documentation as required.

2)         If the applicant does not have a copy of the DD Form 214, the applicant should submit documentation that provides the following information: date of entry, date of separation, character of service, total active service, home or place of entry into the service, and home or place of separation from the service. The documentation must have been issued by the United States Department of Defense (DD) or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

3)         If the applicant is a member of the Armed Forces at the time of application, a letter from the commanding officer shall be submitted.  This letter must:

A)        indicate that the applicant is a member of the Armed Forces at the time of application;

B)        include character of service;

C)        include the veteran's home of record at the time of original enlistment;

D)        state the individual's length of time in each period of federal active duty service; and

E)        state the expiration date of the current enlistment.

4)         The definition of "Resident of Illinois" contained in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.20 does not apply to the Illinois Veteran Grant Program; rather, for the purposes of this program, residency is established as stated in subsections (a) and (b) or (c).  If the applicant's DD Form 214 does not indicate Illinois residency when entering and/or separating from the Armed Forces, and when any other residency requirement is being verified, residency may be verified by providing one or more of the documents listed in this subsection (j)(4).  ISAC may choose to request documents in addition to, or instead of, those listed.  The dates recorded on the documents must indicate the applicant has resided in Illinois for the required period.

A)        Illinois driver's license issued during the relevant 6 month period;

B)        Illinois high school or college transcripts demonstrating attendance during the relevant 6 month period;

C)        Utility bills/rent receipts in the applicant's name for the relevant 6 month period;

D)        Illinois motor vehicle registration issued during the relevant 6 month period;

E)        Residential lease in the applicant's name for the relevant 6 month period;

F)         Statement of benefits history from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services for the relevant 6 month period;

G)        Statement of benefits from the Illinois Department of Employment Security for the relevant 6 month period;

H)        State of Illinois identification card issued during the relevant 6 month period; or

I)         Letter of employment verified by certification in accordance with Illinois law (see 735 ILCS 5/1-109) and printed on company letterhead.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 2447, effective February 6, 2023)