The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded a $1 million grant last week for improvements to the state veterans home in LaSalle, Ill. 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. Further information about Illinois veterans homes is available on the web at the Department of Veterans' Affairs.