720 ILCS 5/17-6.5 – Persons Under Deportation Order; Ineligibility for Benefits
This law says that certain people with deportation orders for helping persecute others cannot get certain Illinois benefits, and they can be punished if they get them anyway.
If someone has been ordered deported for helping the Nazis persecute people and tries to get Illinois state benefits, they are not allowed to receive them. If they do and are caught, they can face criminal charges, and the state can take back the money or help they got.
(a) People who have been ordered deported for helping persecute others under the Nazi government or its allies, or who appeal such orders, cannot get these Illinois benefits:
- Property tax breaks, such as homestead exemptions.
- Grants for senior citizens or people with disabilities for property tax relief.
- Extra income tax exemptions for people 65 or older.
- Grants from the Department on Aging.
- Discounts on vehicle registration fees.
- Free or lower-cost fishing licenses.
- Free college classes for senior citizens.
- Any benefits under the state’s public aid programs.
(b) If someone knowingly gets these benefits when not allowed, they can be charged depending on how much they wrongfully received:
- Sentence: Less than $150 – Class A misdemeanor; if it happens again, Class 4 felony.
- Sentence: $150 to under $1,000 – Class 4 felony; repeat offense, Class 3 felony.
- Sentence: $1,000 to under $5,000 – Class 3 felony; repeat offense, Class 2 felony.
- Sentence: $5,000 to under $10,000 – Class 2 felony; repeat offense, Class 1 felony.
- Sentence: $10,000 or more – Class 1 felony.
(c) When figuring out how serious the crime is, the value of all benefits taken can be added together.
(d) The state’s Attorney General or local prosecutor can sue in civil court to get back any money or grants wrongly given to these people.
(e) If someone like this is later found not guilty of persecution or their deportation is canceled and they become a legal resident again, they may get their Illinois benefits back.
Contact us online or call (314) 900-HELP to talk with a Southern Illinois criminal defense lawyer.
