VA Chicago Regional Office — Attraction in West Chicago Township

PLEASE READ: Terrible. Absolutely terrible. VA once again shows us why they continue to get bashed on their service and lack of professionalism as well as timely communication. I called on Sept 17 to have a paper check (disability) sent just this one time because my Chase account was restricted by the bank meaning no money in or out. It had been like this for a week or so before I decided to call and avoid having the direct deposit sent because I knew chase wouldnt accept it and it would take forever to get that reversed and a check sent. Well of course, two separate 45 min phone calls, the agents on the phone did nothing that I asked them too. I called on 9/17 to update my address and have the check sent via mail. But come to find out on 10/2 I called the VA again to ensure the check was sent. Low and behold, my address wasnt even updated and my disability attempted to direct deposit because whatever 2 agents I spoke to failed to do their job correctly and couldn't even do the simplest of tasks and updating my address in the very least. So the Va tells me I have to wait for Chase to send it back blah blah blah. I drive up to the Regional office an hour away on 10/3. I waited 20 mins to be seen, not bad. The lady I spoke with was short the entire time and offered no solution as to how to fix this or speed the process up. Its only fair that since the VA put me in this situation they should get me out. Haha, wrong. I gave her the exact date and times and even the length of the phone calls I made to the 2 agents about updating my info hoping they would look into the recorded calls so they can see BOTH agents didnt do the one thing I called for. Naturally, they didnt care at all. I even went as far as to have her supervisor join the conversation to see what she could do. She also informs me there is absolutely nothing that anyone can do to speed this up or even have Finance department look into it because Chase has to send the money back because VA system showed Chase still has it. No help, no attempt at anything. I call chase the following Monday to ask about the money that VA claims they have still. Chase tells me, the VA attempted a direct deposit on the 10/1 and it was rejected and sent back immediately. So, very wise of them, the VA sends it again on 10/2 and chase does the same thing. So I call the VA and tell the call center agent this info and right away he offers to have some sort of "tracer" form sent up to the finance department so they can look into the situation and get it taken care of it and have a check sent out once they see chase returned it. VA system was still showing Chase had the money of course. My issue is, why was this call center agent the ONLY one to offer to have this form sent up and have Finance look into it??? I called MULTIPLE times during this fiasco and NOT ONCE did ANYONE offer or even inform me of this form??? WHY?!?! UNACCEPTABLE IN SO MANY WAYS. The position this has put me in is not a fun one and VA truly did not do anything about it until I became a nuisance to them and called daily and had to be rude about the situation. This is not okay and it's not a surprise why no one enjoys dealing...

1 Summary of the Problem Since May 8, 2025—more than three full weeks—I have tried every weekday to contact the Chicago VR&E office about my rehabilitation plan. All attempts have failed:

Phone calls: Your published numbers either ring indefinitely, forward to dead extensions, or disconnect after transfer.

Email: Multiple messages to the VR&E inbox have received no acknowledgment or response.

VA main line / Ask.VA: Operators repeatedly supply incorrect or outdated numbers that produce the same result—no one answers anywhere in the system.

2 Consequences Because of this communications breakdown:

My retraining and employment path has been delayed by at least a month.

Time-sensitive tuition and housing benefits tied to my rehabilitation track are now at risk.

This silence severely undermines veterans’ confidence in a program we earned through service and sacrifice.

3 Corrective Actions Requested — Response Required Within 10 Business Days (by June 11, 2025) Provide a single, functioning point of contact—name, direct phone line, and email—empowered to handle my case.

Explain in writing why published numbers and mailboxes are not being monitored and what steps will correct this immediately.

Give a timeline for processing my case once contact is established.

4 Planned Escalation Path (Notice) If I do not receive a satisfactory response by June 11, 2025, I will:

File a formal competency review request with the Director of VR&E Service and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Central Office.

Elevate the matter to the VA Office of Inspector General and the White House VA Hotline (855-948-2311).

Submit documentation of these failures to my U.S. Representative and Senators and request a congressional inquiry.

Present myself in person at 2122 W Taylor St., ask for the highest-ranking supervisor on site, and lodge an additional written complaint for inclusion in the facility’s...

Not really sure what to think at this point. I went to the office at 3:15pm, thinking they closed at 4pm, only to find their sign says they close at 3pm. Fortunately, there was someone coming out as I arrived and 3 workers were still there and they graciously accepted my visit. Apparently they leave at 4pm, but close at 3pm. Not a problem, but Google doesn't have the correct times.

I went to get a stamp on my DD-214 for the Veteran designation on my IL DL. A week after providing my the DVA certified DD-214, I received a letter from the Office of the Secretary of State, Driver Services Department stating that the DVA did not have record of verifying the DD-214 I presented, requesting me to go get another one.

I contacted both the Driver Services Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs about this issue, but I doubt I will get resolution and will have to go back to the DVA office and DSD to take care of this. Not to mention I had the Veteran designation on my previous license, got a VA homeloan 10 years ago, and have been using the Post-911 GI Bill for my Masters at IIT for the last year.

Not sure what the issue is/was but I signed into this DVA office AND I saw the rep make a copy of my DD-214, as well as log it in her system prior to sramping and signing it.

I am so confused ... This all happened about 2 weeks ago. I don't have a direct number to call any office, so I had to send emails to each...