Veterans Assistance Commission of Madison County

The Veterans' Assistance Commission of Madison County is the county's commission under the Military Veterans Assistance Act; see the Illinois entry on Veterans Assistance Commissions. Office: 157 North Main Street, Suite 115, Edwardsville (618-296-4554; [email protected]), Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Its fiscal 2026 budget is $1,428,239, funded by a $490,913 county levy; it spent $92,397.67 on aid to veterans in fiscal 2025 and reported 3,617 office visits and 23,586 calls. Claims. Accredited service officers file VA compensation, pension, survivors and burial claims and decision reviews free, and offer a full benefits review to any veteran rated 30% or more who is applying for the property tax exemption. Financial assistance. Help is based on income and need ("money in, money out"), paid by voucher to the landlord, lender or utility and never in cash, for bills in the name of a Madison County veteran, spouse, surviving spouse or adult child disabled before 18. - Interim Veterans Assistance, while waiting for VA benefits or a first paycheck, at the Illinois Department of Human Services standard of need. - Emergency Veterans Assistance, one time, after an unforeseen loss of income, under 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. - What it pays: rent or mortgage (not deposits or first or last month), electric, gas, propane, water, sewer and trash (not new connections), food once SNAP has been applied for, hygiene and cleaning supplies, pet food, bus tokens for Madison County Transit, and a one-time, limited lifetime payment toward delinquent property taxes to stop a tax sale, if the owner can pay part. - What stops it: income above expenses, assistance from another government programme, refusing to apply for other help or to work with Madison County Employment and Training, missing appointments, or a claimed theft of income without a police report. The Commission says it cannot make up SNAP cut under the 2025 federal budget law. Where it narrows the Act. The Commission excludes Guard and reserve members whose only service was active duty for training, and asks for the DD-214 from the most recent period of honorable service. The Act does not define the service a veteran needs; it asks only for a last discharge that was honorable or general under honorable conditions. Burial. The Commission's page points to Counties Code sections 5-27001 and 5-27002 for the county's burial of an indigent wartime veteran or family member, up to $900; ask the office how to apply.