Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia

Filed: 4/2/2008

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5368

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5368 on page 2,
3 immediately above line 17, by inserting the following:
 
4     "Section 90. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act is
5 amended by adding Section 30 as follows:
 
6     (20 ILCS 2805/30 new)
7     Sec. 30. Task Force on Servicemember and Veterans
8 Education.
9     (a) The Task Force on Servicemember and Veterans Education
10 is created. The Task Force shall be chaired by the Lieutenant
11 Governor and shall consist of the following members:
12         (1) one member appointed by the Governor;
13         (2) one member appointed by the President of the
14     Senate;
15         (3) one member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;
16         (4) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of

 

 

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1     Representatives;
2         (5) one member appointed by the House Minority Leader;
3         (6) one member appointed by the Director of Veterans'
4     Affairs; and
5         (7) one member designated by the Department of Military
6     Affairs, appointed by the Adjutant General.
7 Vacancies in the Task Force shall be filled by the initial
8 appointing authority. Task Force members shall serve without
9 compensation, but may be reimbursed from appropriations
10 available for that purpose for necessary expenses incurred in
11 performing duties associated with the Task Force.
12     Within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory
13 Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Task Force must issue a
14 report to the General Assembly, including draft legislative
15 language and draft administrative rules, designed to do the
16 following:
17         (1) assist public universities and community colleges
18     throughout the State in developing an Internet-based
19     curriculum of higher education courses for credit,
20     tailored specifically to the needs of active duty
21     servicemembers and veterans of the United States Armed
22     Forces, with a particular emphasis on addressing the unique
23     needs of servicemembers who are stationed abroad; and
24         (2) create on-campus veterans' centers at each public
25     university and community college within the State to assist
26     veterans in applying for financial aid and other benefits

 

 

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1     that may be available to them; on-campus centers shall be
2     staffed by veterans and those intimately familiar with the
3     needs and concerns of veterans.
 
4     Section 95. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by
5 changing Section 601 as follows:
 
6     (820 ILCS 405/601)  (from Ch. 48, par. 431)
7     Sec. 601. Voluntary leaving.
8      A. An individual shall be ineligible for benefits for the
9 week in which he has left work voluntarily without good cause
10 attributable to the employing unit and, thereafter, until he
11 has become reemployed and has had earnings equal to or in
12 excess of his current weekly benefit amount in each of four
13 calendar weeks which are either for services in employment, or
14 have been or will be reported pursuant to the provisions of the
15 Federal Insurance Contributions Act by each employing unit for
16 which such services are performed and which submits a statement
17 certifying to that fact.
18     B. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to an
19 individual who has left work voluntarily:
20         1. Because he is deemed physically unable to perform
21     his work by a licensed and practicing physician, or has
22     left work voluntarily upon the advice of a licensed and
23     practicing physician that assistance is necessary for the
24     purpose of caring for his spouse, child, or parent who is

 

 

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1     in poor physical health and such assistance will not allow
2     him to perform the usual and customary duties of his
3     employment, and he has notified the employing unit of the
4     reasons for his absence;
5         2. To accept other bona fide work and, after such
6     acceptance, the individual is either not unemployed in each
7     of 2 weeks, or earns remuneration for such work equal to at
8     least twice his current weekly benefit amount;
9         3. In lieu of accepting a transfer to other work
10     offered to the individual by the employing unit under the
11     terms of a collective bargaining agreement or pursuant to
12     an established employer plan, program, or policy, if the
13     acceptance of such other work by the individual would
14     require the separation from that work of another individual
15     currently performing it;
16         4. Solely because of the sexual harassment of the
17     individual by another employee. Sexual harassment means
18     (1) unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors,
19     sexually motivated physical contact or other conduct or
20     communication which is made a term or condition of the
21     employment or (2) the employee's submission to or rejection
22     of such conduct or communication which is the basis for
23     decisions affecting employment, or (3) when such conduct or
24     communication has the purpose or effect of substantially
25     interfering with an individual's work performance or
26     creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working

 

 

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1     environment and the employer knows or should know of the
2     existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and
3     appropriate action;
4         5. Which he had accepted after separation from other
5     work, and the work which he left voluntarily would be
6     deemed unsuitable under the provisions of Section 603;
7         6. (a) Because the individual left work due to
8     circumstances resulting from the individual being a victim
9     of domestic violence as defined in Section 103 of the
10     Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; and provided, such
11     individual has made reasonable efforts to preserve the
12     employment.
13         For the purposes of this paragraph 6, the individual
14     shall be treated as being a victim of domestic violence if
15     the individual provides the following:
16             (i) written notice to the employing unit of the
17         reason for the individual's voluntarily leaving; and
18             (ii) to the Department provides:
19                 (A) an order of protection or other
20             documentation of equitable relief issued by a
21             court of competent jurisdiction; or
22                 (B) a police report or criminal charges
23             documenting the domestic violence; or
24                 (C) medical documentation of the domestic
25             violence; or
26                 (D) evidence of domestic violence from a

 

 

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1             counselor, social worker, health worker or
2             domestic violence shelter worker.
3         (b) If the individual does not meet the provisions of
4     subparagraph (a), the individual shall be held to have
5     voluntarily terminated employment for the purpose of
6     determining the individual's eligibility for benefits
7     pursuant to subsection A.
8         (c) Notwithstanding any other provision to the
9     contrary, evidence of domestic violence experienced by an
10     individual, including the individual's statement and
11     corroborating evidence, shall not be disclosed by the
12     Department unless consent for disclosure is given by the
13     individual.
14         7. Because the individual left employment to accompany
15     a spouse who has been reassigned from one military
16     assignment to another. The employer's account, however,
17     shall not be charged for any benefits paid out to the
18     individual who leaves to accompany a spouse reassigned from
19     one military assignment to another.
20 (Source: P.A. 93-634, eff. 1-1-04.)".