Amounts and Terms:

• Individual borrowers can receive a maximum amount of $10,000 through this program.
• Loans can be issued for two or three years, depending on the number of times the borrower has been deployed.
• The borrower is not required to make interest payments on the loan during his/her deployment.
• If you apply prior to or during deployment, you must begin repaying the loan once he/she returns from active duty.
• If you apply after active duty, you will begin making payments like a normal loan.
• The borrower has up to 6 months after the return date to apply for the program.
• If the borrower is called up for another tour of duty, he/she can take out a second loan if the first loan has been paid off. After the borrower returns from the second tour, he/she has three years to pay back the loan.

Interest Rates:

• Financial institutions may issue the loans with an annual percentage rate of three percent.

Program Eligibility:

• The applicant must certify that he/she has been called up to serve in the U.S. Military.
• If you apply prior to or during deployment, applicant must submit a copy of his/her call-up letter along with the application.
• If you apply after active duty, applicant must submit the certificate of release or discharge from active duty form.
• A participating Illinois financial institution must approve the application.

How to Apply:

If you have questions, please e-mail opportunityillinois@treasurer.state.il.us or call (312) 814-1244.

Program History:

The Treasurer’s Office began offering loans to citizen soldiers in October 2001. Over $3.5 million has been deposited into financial institutions through the program, helping approximately 400 members of the military and their families.

Personal Experience:

Heraclio Holguin Jr.

Heraclio Holguin Jr. served in the U.S. Army Reserves for 28 years.

He knows the financial pinch that comes with suddenly running two households, one for his family in Grayslake and one for himself on base.

When Holguin was called to active duty in 2005, a colleague recommended the Treasurer’s Citizen Soldier program.

As a reservist with the 85th Training Division in Arlington Heights, he qualified for a $10,000 loan with a one percent interest rate for a single year.

“It really throws you in a bind when you are running two households all of a sudden,” he said. “You are in the middle of your own life and then have to buy uniforms and make other preparations. This helped bridge the gap until the Army pay kicked in.”