330 ILCS 30/3
The widow or widower, child or children, mother, father, person standing in loco parentis, brothers and sisters, in the order named, of any deceased person shall be paid the compensation to which the deceased person would be entitled under Section 2 of this Act. Where such deceased person would have qualified for compensation under Section 2 except for his death and his death was connected with such service and resulted from such service during the time period specified in Section 2, his survivors, in the order named in this Section, shall be paid $1000.
Where a preceding beneficiary fails to file a claim for compensation after the official notice of death the Department of Veterans' Affairs may proceed to process applications from succeeding beneficiaries, and such beneficiaries may then proceed to qualify upon submission of satisfactory proof of eligibility.
330 ILCS 30/3