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| 1 | AN ACT concerning veterans.
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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 changing Section 15 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (20 ILCS 2805/15) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 15. Veterans advisory council. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) A veterans advisory council shall be established in the | ||||||
| 9 | State of Illinois. The council shall consist of at least 21 17 | ||||||
| 10 | members as follows: | ||||||
| 11 | (1) Four members of the General Assembly, appointed one | ||||||
| 12 | each by the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of | ||||||
| 13 | the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, | ||||||
| 14 | and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, | ||||||
| 15 | preferably from a legislative or representative district | ||||||
| 16 | in which a State-operated veterans home is located. | ||||||
| 17 | (2) Six veterans appointed by the Director of Veterans' | ||||||
| 18 | Affairs. | ||||||
| 19 | (3) One veteran appointed by the commander or president | ||||||
| 20 | of each veterans service organization that is chartered by | ||||||
| 21 | the federal government and by the State of Illinois and | ||||||
| 22 | elects to appoint a member. | ||||||
| 23 | (4) One person appointed by the Adjutant General of the | ||||||
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| 1 | Illinois National Guard. | ||||||
| 2 | (5) One person appointed by the Illinois Attorney | ||||||
| 3 | General. | ||||||
| 4 | (6) One person appointed by the Illinois Secretary of | ||||||
| 5 | State. | ||||||
| 6 | (7) One person appointed by the Director of the | ||||||
| 7 | Illinois Department of Employment Security. | ||||||
| 8 | (8) One person appointed by each military family | ||||||
| 9 | organization that is chartered by the federal government. | ||||||
| 10 | No member of the council shall be an employee or | ||||||
| 11 | representative of the Department of Veterans' Affairs. | ||||||
| 12 | Members of the council shall serve without compensation or | ||||||
| 13 | reimbursement. | ||||||
| 14 | (b) At the initial meeting of the council, the members | ||||||
| 15 | shall elect from among themselves a chairman. The members shall | ||||||
| 16 | draw lots to determine the length of their terms so that 9 | ||||||
| 17 | members have terms that expire on July 1, 2005 and the | ||||||
| 18 | remaining members have terms that expire on July 1, 2006. | ||||||
| 19 | Thereafter, all members of the council shall be appointed for | ||||||
| 20 | terms of 2 years. | ||||||
| 21 | The appointing authority may at any time make an | ||||||
| 22 | appointment to fill a vacancy for the unexpired term of a | ||||||
| 23 | member. | ||||||
| 24 | (c) The council shall meet quarterly or at the call of the | ||||||
| 25 | chairman or at the call of the Director of Veterans' Affairs or | ||||||
| 26 | the Governor. The Department shall provide meeting space and | ||||||
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| 1 | clerical and administrative support services for the council. | ||||||
| 2 | (d) The council has the power to do the following:
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| 3 | (1) Advise the Department of Veterans' Affairs with | ||||||
| 4 | respect to the fulfillment of its statutory duties. | ||||||
| 5 | (2) Review and study the issues and concerns that are | ||||||
| 6 | most significant to Illinois veterans and advise the | ||||||
| 7 | Department on those issues and concerns. | ||||||
| 8 | (3) Receive a report from the Director of Veterans' | ||||||
| 9 | Affairs or the Director's designee at each meeting with | ||||||
| 10 | respect to the general activities of the Department. | ||||||
| 11 | (4) Report to the Governor and the General Assembly | ||||||
| 12 | annually describing the issues addressed and the actions | ||||||
| 13 | taken by the council during the year as well as any | ||||||
| 14 | recommendations for future action. | ||||||
| 15 | (e) The council established under this Section replaces any | ||||||
| 16 | Illinois Veterans Advisory Council established under Executive | ||||||
| 17 | Order No. 3 (1982).
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| 18 | (Source: P.A. 93-779, eff. 7-21-04.)
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| 19 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 20 | becoming law.
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