Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is encouraging veterans and active duty military members to know their rights when it comes to resources and rights available to them through his office. The Illinois Service Member Employment and Reemployment Rights Act went into effect on January 1st this year and designed to provide employment protections to service members. The law also created the position of an ISERRA Advocate within the Attorney General’s office to provide training, information to employers and service members, and to enforce the act.
The AG’s Military and Veterans Rights Bureau handles a wide variety of financial and legal concerns affecting the military and veterans, such as military employment rights, housing, consumer fraud, and scams connected with benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. According to a 2017 AARP study, nearly 80 percent of the veterans surveyed reported being targeted by scams related to their service. Many offer cash, refinancing, or some other phishing-type scam to gain access to a military member’s records. Beginning last week, nationwide consumer reporting agencies are required to provide free electronic credit monitoring services for active duty service members and National Guard members due to the ongoing identity attacks.
Raoul is currently advocating for more general protections for military veterans in higher education by calling on the U.S. Department of Education to discharge school loans for permanently disabled military veterans and to increase protections from for-profit schools. Raoul is encouraging veterans and active duty service members who have questions to contact his Military and Veterans Rights Helpline at 1-800-382-3000.