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Speaking to Belleville
residents, local veterans, families of military personnel serving in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and members of a dozen local veterans
organizations, Gov. Blagojevich explained that the "Serving Those
Who Have Served" initiative consolidates critical information housed
in various state agencies into one user-friendly website and one
comprehensive guide for veterans and military members. The
information is available online at
www.il.gov/iserved.
"Millions of men and women have
honorably served our country," Gov. Blagojevich said. "They have
served all over the world in places like Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and
Afghanistan. Today, we have come to honor all of them. But, honoring
and helping our veterans cannot happen just one day a year. Today, I
am announcing one way we can help our veterans. The state of
Illinois provides a wide array of services for veterans, from
assisted living and skilled care facilities to scholarship programs
for college students and fishing and hunting licenses for disabled
veterans. But finding those services and taking advantage of them
isn't as easy as it should be. Hopefully that will all change."
The state offers dozens of different
programs and benefits to veterans, military service members and
their families. These come from more than six agencies and range
from the preference for state jobs benefit at Central Management
Services to the veterans employment and training program in the
Illinois Department of Employment Security. The governor's new
initiative provides Illinois military personnel and veterans with
quick access to a wide range of state and federal services to help
them take advantage of benefits, including health care, job
opportunities, legal assistance, education services and financial
assistance.
The booklet can be found across the
state at 44 Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs field offices,
VA hospitals and clinics, resource centers for veterans, Illinois
Army National Guard armories, veterans service organizations and all
state agencies. Military personnel and family members can also call
a toll-free line, (800) 437-9824, dedicated to providing information
as part of Serving Those Who Have Served.
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"This
website and comprehensive
booklet will be a wealth of information by making it easier to find
out what type of benefits they're entitled to," said Illinois
Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Roy L. Dolgos. "We are
ensuring that our troops and their families are empowered with
information they will need in their daily readjustment to civilian
status, and also for those who continue to serve in military
capacity. This is only a small token of our appreciation to those
who have served."
Approximately 975,000 veterans are
living in Illinois, and more than 4,300 members of the Illinois Army
Reserve and Illinois Air National Guard are currently serving in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Serving Those Who Have Served is the
latest in a series of the steps the state has taken to better serve
and care for Illinois veterans and military personnel and families.
The first law Blagojevich signed as
governor in February of 2003 made Illinois the first state in the
nation to create a military family relief fund to support the
families of active, injured or fallen soldiers. This summer, the
governor signed a bill to amend that law, to also help single men
and women.
Also this summer, Illinois became
the first state to pass legislation to protect non-active-duty Guard
members and reservists from discrimination when they apply for jobs,
loans or rent apartments. The law the governor signed allows
non-active-duty Guard members and reservists to file claims if they
believe they have been discriminated against.
And, just last month, the governor
signed a new law providing financial support to survivors of
soldiers who are killed while on active duty supporting Operation
Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. The law makes survivors
eligible for death benefits up to $273,000.
[News release from the
governor's office] |
