Illinois State Veterans Benefits: A Comprehensive Guide
CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law
Illinois is home to almost half a million veterans, which makes up an appreciable portion of the state’s population. To help support these veterans—disabled and otherwise—the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) and other prominent Illinois institutions provide valuable benefits surrounding veterans’ housing, education, employment, and more.
In this article, you will learn about some of the most prominent Illinois veterans benefits you may be entitled to as a resident of the state. Key points of this article include:
- There exist significant housing benefits for disabled veterans in Illinois, including grants that help pay for property and modifications to accommodate a veteran’s disability.
- Illinois provides several substantial educational benefits, including some that fully pay the college tuition of a veteran or their dependent.
- The Illinois state government is changing policy to allow veterans’ military training to count toward state licensing exams, so veterans can more easily transition into careers after exiting military service.
Are There Illinois Veterans Benefits for Housing?
Illinois offers substantial housing benefits to resident veterans, including housing grants, tax reductions, and state-run homes to provide care for older or disabled veterans.
Illinois Veterans Homes
There are five veterans homes operated by the state of Illinois. These homes can vary in the amount of nursing care they provide, with some providing 24/7 care and others offering veterans more independence. These homes are located in:
In addition to these, there is also the Prince Home, located on the Manteno campus. Currently closed, the Prince Home is undergoing renovations to serve as a dedicated home for women veterans and is expected to open in 2026.
Specially Adapted Housing Grant
Illinois also offers specially adapted housing grants for eligible veterans who need modified housing to accommodate their permanent and total disabilities. These grants include:
- A lump sum of $15,000 — This first grant is intended help veterans acquire suitable housing adapted for their disabilities. To qualify for this grant, a veteran must also qualify for the federal Specially Adapted Housing Grant program, and must have been an Illinois resident when they first joined the service.
- Up to $3,000 – This separate grant offers financial assistance to help veterans cover any remodeling costs to modify their home to accommodate their disability. This grant has the same eligibility requirements as the first grant. In addition, these funds will only be provided if the total costs of remodeling go beyond what the federal housing grant provides.
Property Tax Exemptions and Reductions: Eligibility and Amounts
The state of Illinois provides several property tax exemptions and reductions for eligible veterans. Some of these exemptions include:
- Specially Adapted Housing Tax Reduction — Properties that have been purchased or modified using the Specially Adapted Housing Grant mentioned in the previous section can receive up to a $100,000 reduction in the property’s Equalized Assessed Value (EAV). This means the veteran, or their spouse, can pay lower property taxes for as long as they live there.
- Mobile Home Tax Exemption — If a disabled veteran uses the Specially Adapted Housing Grant to purchase a mobile home, this benefit ensures their mobile home will be exempt from county mobile home taxes.
- Disabled Veterans’ Standard Homestead Exemption (DVSHE) — This exemption is provided for disabled veterans and offers a reduction in a property’s EAV so long as that EAV is below $250,000. The reduction in EAV corresponds to the veteran’s disability rating percentage, with a total exemption being reserved for veterans with a disability rating of 70 percent or more.
- Returning Veterans’ Homestead Exemption (RVHE) — The RVHE offers service members returning from deployment a $5,000 reduction in their property’s EAV for two consecutive tax years. To qualify, veterans must have served on active duty in an armed conflict.
What State Financial Benefits Are Available to Illinois Veterans?
The state of Illinois offers financial benefits to veterans, including several forms of compensation and income tax exemption.
Wartime Bonus Payments for Illinois Veterans: Amounts by Conflict and How to File
One financial benefit Illinois provides to veterans is various kinds of one-time bonus payments for veterans who served in armed conflicts in the past. These payments include:
- World War II Bonus Payment — This benefit provides $10 per month of domestic service during WWII and $15 per month of foreign service. The veteran must have been an Illinois resident at the time of entering service, in addition to other requirements.
- Korean, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Global War on Terrorism (OIF, OEF) Bonus — This $100 bonus payment is available to qualifying veterans who served in particular timeframes during one of the above conflicts. In addition, the veteran must have earned a specific service medal during their time deployed and been an Illinois resident for 12 months immediately before entering service.
- Prisoner of War (POW) Compensation — This compensation is available for eligible veterans who were taken prisoner by hostile forces during the Vietnam War. So long as all qualifications are met and the veteran was an Illinois resident for 12 months prior to service entry, they will receive $50 for each month they were held captive.
- Vietnam Veteran Survivors Compensation — A one-time payment of $1,000 is paid to the survivors of any Vietnam veteran whose death was determined to be service connected by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The veteran must have been an Illinois resident for 12 months immediately prior to service, in addition to other requirements.
Income Tax Exemptions for Illinois Veterans
For Illinois residents on active duty, many forms of military pay are exempt from state income tax. Usually, a veteran’s military pay will be included in their federal adjusted gross income (AGI). To take advantage of this exemption, veterans must subtract that military pay from their Illinois gross income when filing their Illinois state tax returns.
Additionally, military retirement pay and military disability retirement pay are both exempt from taxes in Illinois.
Illinois Military Spouse Residency Relief Act
Under the Illinois Military Spouse Residency Relief Act, nonresident military spouses from the same state of residence as their nonresident service member are exempt from income taxes in Illinois, so long as their service member is stationed in Illinois on military orders.
However, the nonresident spouse must still pay taxes to their state of residence, if required by that state.
Are There Illinois Veterans Education Benefits for Veterans and Dependents?
There are several educational benefits offered by the state of Illinois to veterans and their dependents.
Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans’ Dependents Scholarship and Grant
A pair of education benefits offered by IDVA are the Deceased, Disabled, and MIA/POW Veterans’ Dependents Scholarship and Grant, respectively. These two benefits are intended for the dependents of any veteran who was declared Missing in Action (MIA), a prisoner of war, has died or become totally disabled due to service-connected conditions, or passed away on active duty. The details of these two benefits are as follows:
- Veterans’ Dependents Scholarship — This scholarship is awarded to dependents of eligible veterans and fully pays for four years of tuition and mandatory fees of any Illinois state-supported college that the dependent attends.
- Veterans’ Dependents Grant — Intended for the younger children of qualifying veterans, this grant provides $250 annually for each child between the ages of 10 and 18 years old to help pay for supplies or fees related to enrollment in an Illinois K-12 school or homeschool.
Illinois Veterans’ Grant: Who Qualifies and How to Apply
The Illinois Veterans’ Grant (IVG) is intended to make it easier for eligible state veterans to attend Illinois-supported colleges, community colleges, or universities. This grant fully pays for the veteran’s tuition and mandatory fees for enrollment.
There are several requirements in place before a veteran can earn this grant. Some of the factors that qualify a veteran include:
- Be an honorably discharged veteran
- Reside in Illinois for six months before entering the service, or be a resident of Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years after leaving active duty as of the date of application
- Have at least one full year of active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. This includes veterans who were assigned to active duty in a foreign country in a time of hostilities in that country, regardless of length of service
- Return to Illinois within six months of discharge from the service
Illinois National Guard Grant: Deadlines and Limits
The Illinois National Guard Grant is similar to the Illinois Veterans Grant, but is reserved exclusively for members or former members of the National Guard. This grant fully pays for school tuition and mandatory fees so that qualifying veterans can attend a participating college or university free of charge.
To qualify for this grant, a veteran must meet the following criteria:
- Be an Illinois National Guard member, defined as meeting one of these two criteria:
- Be active in the Illinois National Guard, or
- Have been active in the Illinois National Guard for at least five consecutive years and have been called to federal active duty for at least six months, and be within the 12-month period immediately following the applicant’s discharge from the ING.
- Have completed one full year of service in the Illinois National Guard
- Be enrolled at an Illinois public 2- or 4-year college
- Not be in default on any educational loan or, if in default, have reinstated eligibility in accordance with ISAC Rules
- Not owe a refund on any state or federal grant
- Maintain an acceptable grade point average (GPA) according to the policy determined by the applicant’s college
- File a complete application each academic year, indicating the college to be attended
Academic Credit for Military Training
Under the Making Military Training Count initiative, veterans are able to earn academic credits for the education and training they received during their military service. This allows veterans to enter college with greater academic momentum, having gained course credits that can be applied toward degree requirements.
To make use of this initiative, veterans need only obtain documentation of their past military training and run it through a service like Transferology to see how their experience may transfer to college credits.
Children of Veterans Tuition Waiver
The Children of Veterans Tuition Waiver is an educational benefit provided by the University of Illinois. Granted to the legal children and stepchildren of veterans, this waiver allows the child to attend the University of Illinois tuition-free for four consecutive years.
Some of the limitations on this tuition waiver include:
- The child must be a permanent resident of the Illinois county from which they apply
- Up to three tuition waivers per county are awarded each year
- The tuition waiver will not waive out-of-state tuition
- The tuition waiver covers 4 consecutive years of in-state tuition for undergraduate, graduate, or professional studies at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, Health Sciences Center, or Springfield)
- The veteran’s service must meet the guidelines listed on the application
Are There Illinois Veterans Benefits for Employment?
Besides educational benefits, Illinois also offers several programs and benefits to help veterans earn gainful employment in the state after leaving military service.
Qualifying for State Professional Licenses with Military Training
By collaborating with various governmental departments, IDVA is adapting policy to allow veterans’ military training to count as credit toward state licensing standards in valuable areas like firefighting, medicine, and law enforcement.
In other words, if a veteran has relevant military training in a particular area like medicine or commercial driving, the state may consider them qualified to earn a medical certification or Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) without any further training. Instead, they may just have to pass basic competency tests and written exams to become licensed.
Some of these equivalencies include:
- Military medics may be qualified for Certified Nurse Aide (CNA), First Responder (EMR), or Emergency Medical Technician Basic (EMT-B) licenses, so long as they can provide proof of their medic training and pass the proper exams.
- Veterans who served in specific campaigns and received honorable discharges may have the educational requirements waived for positions in the Illinois State Police, Conservation Police, Municipal Police, or Municipal Firefighters.
- Military drivers may have the educational requirements waived to earn a Commercial Driver’s License in Illinois, so long as they can provide proof of their training.
Note that, for several of these positions and licenses, it is only the educational requirements that can be waived. Veterans will still have to prove their training via skills test or competency exam to earn a license.
Illinois Veterans Hiring Preference
Under Illinois state law, qualified veterans who apply to state government positions are typically granted a hiring preference over their civilian counterparts. This primarily takes two forms:
- An additional 3, 5, or 10 points being added to a passing grade on state entrance examinations, depending on the specifics of the veteran’s service. These points can sometimes apply to spouses or parents of veterans, as well.
- Absolute appointment preference being granted to qualifying veterans within a certain grade range.
Troops to Teachers Program
Troops to Teachers (TTT) is a program designed to assist veterans transitioning from careers in the military to careers in K-12 education. The Illinois subset of this program helps provide former service members with career guidance on the requirements needed to become a teacher in Illinois. Other benefits offered by this program include suggestions on training programs and information on available employment opportunities in education.
Importantly, as of 2025, the Troops to Teachers program has not yet received funding appropriation to restart operations after being temporarily canceled in October 2020. This means the program is operating on minimum staff and resources.
Veteran Entrepreneurship Program
Another benefit offered by IDVA is the Veteran Entrepreneurship Program. This program is designed to foster success among veteran entrepreneurs by connecting them with a network of government agencies, trade associations, business experts, and other valuable contacts.
Under this program, IDVA and its partners provide a variety of events and seminars hosted by prominent Illinois business and governmental associations. These seminars are intended to train veterans in important business practices and help them expand their network among industry experts and professionals.
Are There Illinois Veterans Benefits for Recreation?
Illinois also provides benefits for disabled and non-disabled veterans to take advantage of the state’s parks and recreation services.
State Hunting and Fishing Licenses
There are two prominent Illinois veterans benefits offered by the state when it comes to hunting and fishing licenses:
- Free hunting and fishing licenses are available to veterans with a 10 percent or greater service-connected disability or who are receiving a total disability pension. The proper documentation to prove their eligibility can be obtained from IDVA.
- 50 percent discounted hunting, fishing, and sportsmen’s combination licenses are available to Illinois veterans who either served abroad or who were mobilized by the President of the United States.
State Parks and Recreation Passes
Disabled veterans and former POWs are exempt from camping and admission fees in any state park managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. To earn this benefit, veterans must possess the requisite documentation and apply through an Illinois Veterans Service Organization.
Are There Illinois Veterans Benefits for Burial?
If a veteran passes away in Illinois, there are several options available to properly honor their departure and partially reimburse their survivors for any costs incurred by their interment:
- Grave Registration – The Roll of Honor is a service provided by IDVA to keep a record of all of the veterans buried in the state. Survivors of eligible veterans can apply to have their veteran’s name registered in the Roll.
- Headstone or Grave Marker Reimbursement – Another service offered by IDVA is a $125 reimbursement to pay for the transportation and/or installation of a VA-provided headstone or grave marker in Illinois.
- Veteran Cemeteries – There are several veterans cemeteries in the state of Illinois, including those in Manteno and Quincy. For a veteran to be buried in one of these cemeteries, their survivors will likely need to apply through the usual VA channels.
Need Help Getting Your VA Benefits? Call CCK Law
If you are an Illinois veteran who had your VA disability claim denied, then the experienced team at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick may be able to help. Our accredited attorneys have represented over 18,000 veterans before the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Call CCK Law at (800) 544-9144 or contact us online for a free case evaluation.
