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Veterans Assistance Commission reports new benefits, schedules outreach event; bills affecting levies flagged
Summary
The county’s Veterans Assistance Commission reported about $1.8 million in new benefits secured this fiscal year, described an upcoming Operation Warm Welcome event, and noted pending state bills that could affect VA property tax levies.
Jake Zimmerman, representing the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission, told the Public Service Committee on March 20 that the commission had helped secure nearly $1.8 million in new benefits through January of the current fiscal year.
Zimmerman briefed the committee on Operation Warm Welcome, an outreach event the commission will join with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and community partners at the Batavia VFW targeted at veterans recently separated from the military. He said the event is “targeted toward the 10 or so veterans that get out of the military and come back to Kane County every month” but is open to all veterans.
Committee members praised the commission’s work and noted that local veterans’ posts and the Hines VA Hospital regularly coordinate with the commission. Zimmerman said the commission is staffed entirely by veterans and has many community partners, including VA‑linked programs and the county veterans treatment court.
During discussion, Miss Lewis said she had been in Springfield and noted two House bills (House Bill 2720 and House Bill 2689) circulating in the legislature that affect veterans assistance and property tax levies. Zimmerman asked for the bill texts to be forwarded; he said he was not familiar with those exact bill numbers but noted the Illinois Association of County Veterans Assistance Commissions had taken stances on other measures such as SB 2018. A committee member later clarified that the bills discussed would allow certain levies for veterans assistance to be set at 0.2% automatically without county approval; the members agreed to send the bill texts to Zimmerman for review.
No formal county action on the bills was taken at the meeting; Zimmerman asked the committee to forward legislative information to him for follow‑up.
