Illinois veterans wishing to complete a college education now have another option.

On July 7 Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed House Bill 815, which rewrites the Illinois Veteran Grant program and increases benefits for Illinois veterans and current service members.

The bill, effective immediately, will cover all tuition and mandatory fees for those eligible. This is an increase in benefits from the previous IVG program, which only covered tuition and non-mandatory fees previously.

“For most students this is a real plus,” said Linda Dersch, senior assistant director of student financial aid.

To be eligible for the IVG program, students must attend undergraduate or graduate studies at any Illinois public university or community college, have served at least one year of active duty service in the U.S. military, have received an honorable discharge for each period of active duty service, reside in Illinois, maintain the minimum grade point average required by the college and not be in default on any student loan or be a member of the ROTC.

“As long as students continually enroll in the university, they are eligible to receive this grant,” Dersch said.

Dersch said during the 2004-2005 school year, about 430 NIU students used the IVG grant to pay for their school. This fall, about 342 students have taken advantage of the grant. However, as more students are admitted for the spring semester, Dersch expects the number to increase to about the same as last school year.