Welcome to the Web site for the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, the state agency dedicated and committed to assist veterans and their family members get the services they have rightfully earned.

Adaptive Activities Day 2010

The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, the Chicago Park District and Hines VA Hospital are proud to invite you to Veterans' Adaptive Activities Day. It's a day of inclusive fitness activities for Veterans with disabilities and their families.

Helping Our Hometown Heroes

Helping Our Hometown Heroes is a program created by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs to provide veterans with benefits information from federal, state and local agencies in one location. These events are an opportunity to bring all of the resources in a community together under one roof so that a Veteran can sit down face to face with staff that can assist them, as well as learn about resources that they might not have known about.

View the schedule of events including locations near you.

Illinois Remembers the Forgotten War

The State of Illinois is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War by supplying information each month about the state's involvement in the conflict. Starting in June 2010 and running through July 2013, the state's newspapers, radio and TV stations will be provided with the names of Illinois service people killed in action 60 years ago that month, key developments in the war, accounts of Illinois' Korean War Medal of Honor recipients, and other information designed to inform citizens of the war that killed 1,754 Illinois and 54,246 United States citizens.

More Resources Available for Student Veterans at Illinois Colleges and Universities

The Veterans Higher Education Bill passed in 2009 provides greater access to information about benefits and resources available to student veterans attending public colleges and universities in Illinois. Each school with 1,000 or more full-time students is required to publish and distribute a comprehensive guide of services available specifically to veterans at their institutions.

Currently, about 60 schools participate in the program, and all of the services available to student veterans on those campuses can be found at the Higher Education Veterans Services Act web page.

New, Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits Begin August 1, 2009

The Post 9/11 GI Bill provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. You must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The amount of support that an individual may qualify for depends on where they live and what type of degree they are pursuing. For a summary of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits.

Approved Institutions of Higher Learning | Illinois Yellow Ribbon Program Schools | United States G.I. Bill