A press release from State Rep. Barb Wheeler:
Wheeler Aims to Alleviate Home Healthcare
Barb Wheeler
Springfield, IL…Working with local property tax assessors and home healthcare providers, State Rep. Barbara Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake) has introduced House Bill 3715, a measure aimed at incentivizing families to take care of their loved ones at home.
This measure would take a commonly used property tax exemption and extend it should a property owner make improvements or additions to their home as long as those improvements are being used to care for a disabled person or senior citizen living in their home.
“Home healthcare is an amazing way to keep families close while their loved ones are seeking assistance,” said Wheeler.
“Our current system is incentivizing families to put their elderly parents into nursing homes since they can add them to the Medicaid rolls and don’t have to build onto their home.
“My bill will incentivize families to keep their loved ones at home by saving money on their property tax bill should they make improvements in order to provide care.”
Illinois law currently allows for a four year Homestead Improvement Exemption.
A homeowner can exempt new improvements made to their house from their property tax assessment up to the fair cash value added or $75,000. This exemption expires after four years.
House Bill 3715 will extend the exemption for as long as the disabled person or senior is living in that home. This will allow more families to keep their loved ones close while they seek care and assistance for them.
“There is nothing more important than family, and whether they are 5 years old or 100 years old, we want to keep our families together,” said Wheeler.
“Sometimes the system we have encourages families to make the hard choice to send seniors and the disabled to nursing homes to care for them.
“I believe the state should encourage these families to stay together.
“That is what my bill is aiming to do.”
Hey, Cal,
Can’t believed you missed one of the highlights of Veto Session: How about Jack Franks yesterday making it so state park facilities/museums would be open the standard 52 days for free for folks who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford seeing a museum/state park?
Remember all the hooplah during the Federal Government shutdown when Veterans were barred from seeing the WWII memorial?
Sadly, the bill to shutdown parks/museums was written by a Republican.
You would think that a member of the GOP would have the good sense to see that during the Government shutdown, Americans did not like the fact they didn’t have access to their state parks, recreation facilities and also museums.
Penny wise, pound foolish.
Thanks Jack!
Well done on getting the Legislature to vote against closing parks for the otherwise 52 free days they were open for people less fortunate.
Why stop there with bouquet tossing Fair Play?
Why don’t we just declare a Jack Franks Day in Illinois, an official State Holiday?
In recognition of all the weasels and opportunists we have in the Political Class, working the Illinois Kleptocracy.
This proposed tax break may be a worthy cause, but… is there no end to tax breaks?
The term “tax break” to me just means that some else is footing the bill for our run away state and federal budgets.
Bouquet tossing? How bout acknowledging a success?