My Office
The federal government has a variety of resources available to veterans.  My office can serve as your point of contact with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) if you need help with benefits claims, health care eligibility, education benefits through the GI bill, VA home loans, business ventures, or if you simply want to obtain a copy of your military records or a replacement of medals earned.  To submit a request for assistance, you must fill out a privacy release form and send it – along with an explanation of the problem – to:

Congresswoman Judy Biggert
6262 South Route 83, Suite 305
Willowbrook, IL 60527

The Department of Veterans Affairs
Contact the Department of Veterans Affairs through its website or by calling any of its toll-free phone numbers.

Eligibility for Health Care
To determine eligibility for health care and prescription medication services through the VA, you must file for enrollment.  Complete and submit Form 10-10EZ , along with a copy of your DD-214 to the VA Chicago Regional Office at:

Chicago Regional Office
2122 W. Taylor Street
Chicago, IL  60612

Benefit Claims
For information on VA benefits such as disability compensation, pension, aid and attendance, or dependents and survivors benefits, visit the Department of Veterans Affairs benefits web page.  To file an initial claim, complete Form 21-526 and submit it to the VA Chicago Regional Office along with a copy of your DD-214.

Education Benefits through the GI Bill
For information regarding VA education benefits including the Post 9/11 GI Bill, please visit http://www.gibill.va.gov.

Employment Opportunities
HireVetsFirst provides a variety of useful resources to help veterans find employment and to help employers find veterans.

Home Loans
To find out information about home loans for veterans and whether or not you are eligible, please visit http://www.homeloans.va.gov/.

To Apply for a Home Loan

1. Apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. A veteran who does not have a certificate can obtain one by filling out VA Form 26-1880 (request for Determination of Eligibility and Available Loan Guaranty Entitlement) and submitting it to your local VA office.

Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Regional Office
536 South Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60605

2. Decide on a home and sign a purchase agreement.

3. Order an appraisal from the VA. (This is usually done by the lender.)

4. Apply for the loan through a mortgage lender. While the appraisal is being processed, the lender can gather credit and income information. If the lender is authorized by the VA to do automatic processing, the loan can be approved and closed without waiting for the VA to review the credit application. For loans that must first be approved by the VA, the lender will send the application to the local VA office, which will notify the lender of its decision.

5. Close on the loan and move in to your new home.

To Obtain A Copy Of Your Military Records
For copies of your military service records, you may contact:

National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100

You can request military records by obtaining and completing the Standard Form 180 on the National Personnel Records Center website.

To Obtain A Replacement Medal
You can request replacement for lost or stolen medals by contacting the:

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Phone: 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272

or

National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100

Veterans Service Organizations
There are a variety of veterans service organizations committed to helping veterans and their families.
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
Disabled American Veterans
The American Legion
Vietnam Veterans of America
The Military Order of the Purple Heart
Paralyzed Veterans of America