WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today awarded a $1 million grant for improvements to the state veterans home in LaSalle.
"This grant honors our commitment to care for the men and women who have served in uniform," said the Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. "Our federal-state partnership provides a comfortable home for Illinois' veterans in a time of personal need."
The $1,048,639 grant will pay up to 65 percent of the cost to construct a new storage facility at the state veterans home in LaSalle. Overall cost of the project is estimated at $1.6 million.
The home is available to veterans who have been residents in Illinois for a year or entered service from Illinois. Additionally, veterans with military service of one day or more during wartime with an honorable discharge are eligible.
In fiscal year 2004, VA spent nearly $1.9 billion in Illinois to serve about 896,000 veterans who live in the state. VA operates major medical centers in Chicago, Danville, Hines, Marion and North Chicago with outpatient clinics and Vet Centers in many locations. VA health care was provided to 175,541 people in Illinois during 2004.
