Benefits for Disabled Veterans in Illinois

Illinois offers two types of free license plates for disabled veterans. The first set of plates is issued at no cost for both options, and applications are processed through the Illinois Secretary of State’s office in Springfield, either in person or by mail. 

Disabled Veteran License Plates 

The Disabled Veteran License Plates are available to veterans with at least a 10% service-connected walking disability, together with certification from a licensed physician confirming that the disability qualifies them for a disabled parking plate. Vehicles displaying these plates may park in spaces reserved for persons with disabilities.  

Required documentation includes a VA letter verifying the service-connected disability, the full VA Rating Decision letter showing at least a 10% rating for a walking disability that matches the physician’s diagnosis, a physician’s certification (Disabled Veteran Certification for Parking Placard/Plates), and a DD-214 showing honorable or under honorable conditions discharge. Learn more. 

ISERVE License Plates for 50% Disabled Veterans

Service-Connected Disabled Veteran (ISERVE) License Plates are available to veterans with a 50% or greater service-connected disability rating from the VA, even if their disability does not qualify them for a standard disabled parking plate. Veterans must provide a VA letter confirming a disability rating of 50% or more and a DD-214. Learn more. 

Do Veterans Get Free Car Registration in Illinois?

The first set of Disabled Veteran or ISERVE license plates in Illinois is issued at no cost, and stays free at every annual renewal, including the registration fee. Only a second set of plates for an additional vehicle carries the standard fee, currently $151 for a passenger vehicle and $41 for a motorcycle. Electric vehicles with special military plates are subject to an additional $100 registration fee. 

Do Disabled Veterans Pay Sales Tax on Vehicles in Illinois?

Illinois does not currently offer a general sales tax exemption on vehicle purchases for disabled veterans. Veterans purchasing a vehicle in Illinois are subject to the same state and local sales tax rates as other residents. 

Do Disabled Veterans Pay Tolls in Illinois?

Illinois does not currently provide a blanket toll exemption for disabled veterans on the Illinois Tollway system. However, the Illinois Tollway’s I-PASS Assist program is available to income-eligible individuals and families (household income at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines). 

Veterans who need to travel to VA medical appointments can use the Beneficiary Travel Self-Service System to be reimbursed for travel costs (including tolls) to and from approved VA healthcare facilities. 

Other Veteran Plates, Placards and Transit Benefits

Disabled Veteran and ISERVE plates are not the only options. The Illinois Secretary of State also issues Purple Heart plates, whose first set is free and which require no disability rating, along with ex-prisoner-of-war, Gold Star and a range of other military plates. Veterans whose condition limits mobility can apply separately for a disability parking placard, which also waives payment at parking meters allowing more than 30 minutes.

For public transport, Illinois provides a Ride Free Transit Benefit through the Benefit Access Program. It is not limited by age, so a veteran with a qualifying disability can ride CTA, Metra and Pace at no charge.

Does Illinois Offer College Benefits to Veterans?

The Illinois Veteran Grant covers tuition and certain mandatory fees at all Illinois public colleges and universities for eligible veterans. It does not cover housing, refundable fees, or extramural fees. The grant provides up to 120 eligibility units (equivalent to roughly four years of full-time study) and can be used for undergraduate or graduate programs. Find out more. 

The Illinois Veteran Grant is not limited to disabled veterans but is available to all qualifying Illinois veterans. To be eligible, a veteran must have been an Illinois resident for at least six months before entering active duty, must have returned to Illinois within six months of separation, must have served at least one year of active duty (unless discharged earlier due to a service-connected disability), and must have received an honorable discharge. A veteran who was not an Illinois resident before entering service can still qualify with 15 consecutive years of Illinois residency after leaving active duty. 

Do Disabled Veterans’ Dependents Get Free Tuition in Illinois? 

The Deceased, Disabled, and MIA-POW Veterans’ Dependents Scholarship covers tuition and mandatory fees at any state-supported Illinois college or university for up to four calendar years (120 points), including summer terms. The benefit expires 12 years from the date of enrollment, and it ends for a surviving spouse and stepchildren on the date of any remarriage or divorce. See the eligibility rules. It is available to the spouse and children of veterans who are either: 

1. Rated 100% permanent and totally disabled from service-connected causes, including a permanent and total rating based on unemployability (TDIU)
2. Deceased as a result of service-connected causes 
3. Classified as a prisoner of war or missing in action 

Applications are submitted online through the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) student portal. For questions, contact the ISAC Special Awards Unit at 800-899-4722 or the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs at 217-782-3564. 

Additionally, Illinois provides the Deceased, Disabled, and MIA-POW Veteran’s Dependents Opportunity Grant of $250 per year for each child between the ages of 10 and 18 whose parent is a veteran rated 100% permanent and totally disabled from service-connected causes, killed in action, a prisoner of war, or missing in action. See the grant details. 

Apprenticeship and On-the-Job Training Support

Illinois supports veterans who prefer “earning while learning” through traditional trade apprenticeships.

• State Approving Agency (SAA): The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs oversees the approval of apprenticeship programs. This ensures that veterans can use their GI Bill for non-traditional education paths like carpentry, firefighting, or heavy equipment operation. 
• On-the-Job Training: Similar to apprenticeships, OJT programs allow veterans to receive VA monthly benefit checks while they are being trained by an employer for a specific skilled position. 
• Employment Preference: A completed apprenticeship builds documented, transferable experience that can support applications for skilled trade roles in the public and private sectors. 

Illinois State Veterans Hiring Preference

Illinois grants hiring preference points to veterans applying for state merit positions under the Illinois Personnel Code (20 ILCS 415/8b.7). The points are added to a veteran’s passing examination score: 

• 10 points: Veterans with a service-connected disability or Purple Heart recipients 
• 5 points: Veterans who served during a period of hostilities 
• 3 points: All other qualifying veterans (including National Guard and Reserve members with at least six months of service) 

A non-remarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died from a service-connected cause, and the spouse of a veteran whose service-connected disability prevents the veteran from qualifying for civil service employment, are entitled to the same preference the veteran would have received. A 10-point preference is also available to one parent of an unmarried veteran in those same circumstances. See 20 ILCS 415/8b.7. 

To claim the preference, veterans must submit a certified DD-214 (or NGB-22 for National Guard) and, for the disability preference, a VA letter documenting service-connected disability.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Preference 

Illinois’s Veterans Business Program (VBP) establishes a goal that at least 3% of the total dollar amount of state contracts (representing over $300 million annually) is awarded to certified veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.  

Eligible businesses must have annual gross sales under $150 million, be 51% owned by one or more qualified veterans or service-disabled veterans, and the owners must reside in Illinois. Businesses already certified by the VA or Cook County can take advantage of an expedited certification process. Learn more about VBP certification.

Licensing, Hiring Credits and Career Help

Illinois shortens the route back into a licensed profession. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation runs a military portability program that reviews applications from service members, veterans, spouses and dependents within 30 days, gives credit for military training toward certain licenses, and staffs a dedicated military liaison.

Employers have their own incentive to hire veterans. Illinois offers a veteran employment tax credit worth 20% of wages, up to $5,000 per veteran per year, for hiring veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 10% of wages, up to $1,200, for other recent-conflict veterans.

Job seekers can also work directly with Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists and Local Veterans Employment Representatives based in American Job Centers across the state. The Veterans Outreach Program provides personalized career counseling and can be reached at (800) 643-8138 or VeteransOutreachByEmail@illinois.gov.

Illinois state parks are free to enter for everyone, but veterans also get camping privileges. Illinois resident disabled veterans and former prisoners of war camp free of charge at all Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) state parks and recreation areas, and are exempt from shelter reservation fees. This benefit extends to the veteran’s immediate family (spouse, minor children, and grandchildren under 18) when accompanying the veteran.

Which Veterans Can Camp for Free at State Parks?

Resident veterans camp free any day of the week at Illinois state parks if they have either: 

1. a 100% service-connected disability
2. permanent loss of use of a limb
3. a disability requiring a wheelchair or crutches for mobility

To qualify for free camping, veterans must obtain a Veterans Disability Certification Card from any IDVA field office. Required documentation includes proof of disability from the VA, Department of Defense, or Military Personnel Records Center. Find out more.

Immediate family (spouse and minor children or grandchildren) can also camp at no additional cost as long as they are staying at the same site with the disabled veteran. 

For premium campsites (Class A, AA, A-P, B/E, B/E-P), there is no camping fee but a $10 utility fee applies if the site has utilities. For basic campsites (Class B/S, B/S-P, C, D), there is no camping fee and no utility fee.

Disabled veterans are also exempt from shelter reservation fees. Veterans must present their IDVA Veterans Disability Certification Card to park staff when obtaining camping permits. See all camping discounts.

Do Disabled Veterans Get Free Hunting and Fishing Licenses in Illinois?

Veterans receiving 10% or greater service-connected compensation or total disability pension benefits receive a free, permanent hunting and fishing license with no expiration date. The exemption also covers the State Habitat Stamp and State Waterfowl Stamp.

To get a free hunting or fishing license, veterans must present a DD-214 and a Disability Affidavit, both of which can be obtained through a local IDVA Veteran Service Office. Once issued, the license does not need to be renewed. Find out more.

Illinois resident veterans who served abroad, and Guard or Reserve members who were mobilized by the President, can get a fishing license, a hunting license or a sportsmen’s combination license at one-half the current fee, on presentation of a DD-214 and photo ID. Non-resident veterans are not eligible for this discount. See all military fee exemptions.

Illinois DNR also runs a Disabled Outdoor Opportunities program for hunters whose mobility is limited. It issues a Disabled Hunter Site Access Permit allowing vehicle or ATV access on designated roads and trails on department-managed land, operates a 10 Day Rule accommodation process, and organizes deer, pheasant, waterfowl and dove hunts for people with disabilities.

Illinois provides healthcare services to veterans through a combination of federal VA medical facilities and state-operated Veterans’ Homes. Five VA systems serve Illinois veterans: Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, the VA Illiana Health Care System in Danville, and the Marion VA Medical Center. Counties near the state borders are also served by outlying clinics of neighboring VA systems. 

VA Medical Centers in Illinois

• Jesse Brown VA Medical Center: 820 South Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612
• Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital: 5000 South 5th Avenue, Hines, IL 60141
• Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center: 3001 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064
• Danville VA Medical Center (VA Illiana Health Care System): 1900 East Main Street, Danville, IL 61832
• Marion VA Medical Center: 2401 West Main Street, Marion, IL 62959

VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinics

Most Illinois veterans can get routine primary care, mental health care and lab work without travelling to a medical center. Community-based outpatient clinics are spread across the state:

• Chicago area: Auburn Gresham, Chicago Heights, Lakeside and the Chicago Community Resource and Referral Center, plus a clinic in Crown Point, Indiana serving the south suburbs. See locations
• Hines area: Aurora, Hoffman Estates, Joliet, Kankakee (Bourbonnais), Peru and Oak Lawn. See locations
• Central Illinois: Bloomington, Peoria (Bob Michel VA Outpatient Clinic), Champaign, Decatur, Mattoon and Springfield. See locations
• Southern Illinois: Carbondale, Effingham, Harrisburg, Marion and Mount Vernon. See locations
• North Chicago and Great Lakes: joint-use clinics on the Naval Station Great Lakes campus. See locations

Illinois State Veterans’ Homes 

Illinois has five Veterans’ Homes that offer affordable long-term skilled nursing care to aging and disabled veterans and their eligible spouses. Services range from independent domiciliary living (available in Anna and Quincy) to 24/7 skilled nursing care at all five locations. 

1. Illinois Veterans’ Home at Anna: 792 N. Main Street, Anna, IL 62906 | Phone: (618) 833-5394 
2. Illinois Veterans’ Home at Chicago: 4250 N. Oak Park Avenue, Chicago, IL 60634 | Phone: (773) 794-3763 
3. Illinois Veterans’ Home at LaSalle: 1015 O’Conor Avenue, LaSalle, IL 61301 | Phone: (815) 410-8375 
4. Illinois Veterans’ Home at Manteno: 1 Veterans Drive, Manteno, IL 60950 | Phone: (815) 907-3506 
5. Illinois Veterans’ Home at Quincy: 1707 N. 12th Street, Quincy, IL 62301 | Phone: (217) 640-2488 

To be eligible for admission, a veteran must have received an honorable discharge and meet one of these service tests: at least one day of service during a recognized war period or in a hostile-fire environment, retirement for a service-connected disability, 24 months of continuous active duty for those who enlisted after September 1980, or qualifying National Guard or Reserve service.

The veteran must also be disabled and unable to earn a living, and must either have entered service as an Illinois resident or have resided in Illinois for at least one year before applying. Residents with income pay a monthly maintenance charge, which is waived for veterans rated 70% to 100% service-connected. Find out more. 

• Headstone or Grave Marker Reimbursement: When the federal government furnishes a headstone or marker, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs pays up to $125 for the setting of that marker within Illinois. 
• Global War on Terrorism Survivors Compensation: a $3,000 payment to the survivors of Illinois service members killed in action by a terrorist act.
• Vietnam Veteran Survivors Compensation: a $1,000 payment to the survivors of a Vietnam veteran whose death was service-connected.
• Indigent Veterans Burial: County Veterans Assistance Commissions provide up to $900 in burial assistance for honorably discharged indigent veterans, or their mother, father, spouse or surviving spouse, or minor children, who lack sufficient funds for funeral expenses. See 330 ILCS 45/2.

Illinois operates one state veterans cemetery, Sunset Veterans Cemetery, on the grounds of the Illinois Veterans’ Home at Quincy, 1707 N. 12th Street, Quincy, IL 62301. It provides interment and perpetual care for eligible veterans and their spouses, and more than 7,000 veterans and spouses are buried there, some dating back to the Civil War. The cemetery received a VA Veterans Cemetery Grants Program award to add a columbarium and committal shelter. For current eligibility and interment arrangements, contact the Quincy home on (217) 640-2488.

National Cemetery Interments

The VA National Cemetery Administration runs seven national cemeteries in Illinois. Four remain open to new burials and three are closed, accepting only interments in existing family gravesites.

• Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery: 20953 W. Hoff Road, Elwood, IL 60421, open to new burials
• Camp Butler National Cemetery: 5063 Camp Butler Road, Springfield, IL 62707, open to new burials
• Danville National Cemetery: 1900 East Main Street, Danville, IL 61832, open to new burials
• Mound City National Cemetery: junction of Old Highway 51 and Illinois Route 37, Mound City, IL 62963, open to new burials
• Alton National Cemetery: 600 Pearl Street, Alton, IL 62002, closed to new interments
• Quincy National Cemetery: 36th and Maine Street, Quincy, IL 62301, closed to new interments
• Rock Island National Cemetery: Building 1, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, IL 61299, closed to new interments

In a national cemetery the VA provides the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, a government headstone or marker, and perpetual care at no cost to the family, who pay only for funeral home preparation, the casket or urn, and transportation.

Survivor Benefits

Several federal benefits are available to survivors independently of anything Illinois provides. Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is a monthly tax-free payment to a surviving spouse, child or parent when a veteran dies of a service-connected condition. A Survivors’ Pension supports low-income surviving spouses and children of wartime veterans.

Accrued benefits cover money the VA owed the veteran but had not yet paid at death. Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance, known as Chapter 35, funds education for the spouse and children of a veteran who died of or is permanently and totally disabled by a service-connected condition. Learn more about survivor benefits.

One Illinois benefit follows the veteran’s death directly: the Disabled Veterans’ Standard Homestead Exemption transfers to a surviving spouse who holds title to the home, lives there permanently and does not remarry, and it can move with the spouse to a new primary residence in Illinois under those same conditions.

• Monthly tax-free compensation payments based on disability rating (calculate it here) 
• Medical care, including mental health services and counseling 
• Special compensation, Aid & Attendance and other financial benefits 
• Home loans and housing benefits 
• Vocational rehabilitation and employment services 
• Education benefits through the GI Bill 
• Survivor benefits 
• Federal hiring preference 

Eligibility for some of these benefits depends on the disability rating percentage. Use the links below to see what federal benefits Illinois veterans can get with a rating of 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, etc. 

• 50% VA disability benefits
• 60% VA disability benefits
• 70% VA disability benefits
• 80% VA disability benefits
• 90% VA disability benefits

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits

Veterans with a 100% disability rating receive the highest level of federal VA benefits, including: 

• Full monthly VA compensation
• Full VA healthcare coverage
• Dental care
• Adaptive equipment grants

See all federal benefits for a 100% disabled Illinois veteran → 

100% Disabled Veteran Benefits for Spouse and Dependents 

Spouses and family members of 100% disabled veterans may also be able to get several benefits: 

• CHAMPVA healthcare  
• DIC eligibility  
• Education benefits  
• Continued property tax exemption  
• Access to Illinois state resources  

Illinois veterans and veterans who served at a military base in Illinois and developed disabilities may be eligible for compensation and VA benefits. 

Illinois Military Bases with Known Toxins 

• Scott Air Force Base (Belleville, IL) 
• Naval Station Great Lakes (Lake County, IL) 
• Chanute Air Force Base (Rantoul, IL)
• Rock Island Arsenal (Rock Island, IL)

If you served at a base in a different state, you can check its history of toxic contamination and potential health effects using the Military Base Toxic Exposure Map, or get in touch with our VA disability lawyers to explore your legal options.

Free Guide to Getting VA Disability

Attorney Matthew Hill has written THE book on how to file for and win VA disability compensation and benefits, which you can receive by mail free of charge.

Legal Resources for Disabled Veterans 

• Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA): Veteran Service Officers available statewide to assist with benefits claims. 
• County Veterans Assistance Commissions (VACs): Local county-level support and advocacy for veterans. 
• Illinois Attorney General Military and Veterans Rights Helpline: Phone: 1-800-382-3000.

Attorneys Specialized in VA Disability Law

Our VA-accredited disability lawyers proudly represent Illinois veterans who were denied or underrated by the VA, with no upfront costs. Contact us for a free evaluation: even if we don’t take your case, we’ll point you in the right direction!