Representatives Wait and Winters Call For Senior Property Tax Relief
Rockford, IL… At a press conference held at the Northwestern Illinois Area Agency on Aging (NIAAA) in Rockford, State Representatives Ron Wait (R-Belvidere) and Dave Winters (R-Shirland) called for property tax relief for seniors in Illinois. Wait and Winters are urging their fellow legislators to help reduce the burden of property taxes on senior households by expanding the property tax freeze and enact aid for long-time homeowners.
“Last year in the General Assembly we made strides towards senior property tax relief, but there is still work to be done,” said Wait. “HB 4916 will allow us to broaden the scope of seniors that qualify for property tax aid. With bi-partisan support of this legislation, we can provide long overdue relief to seniors who do not currently qualify for the property tax freeze.”
Local Republican lawmakers are calling for:
- An exemption of Social Security income from the definition of “income” used to track a senior household’s eligibility for the senior citizens’ assessment freeze.
- A decrease in the age limit needed to qualify for the senior citizens’ assessment freeze from 65 to 55.
- An increase in the “ceiling” level of income needed by longtime homeowners to qualify for the senior citizens’ assessment freeze. Currently, when a senior household’s income rises above $55,000, its residents lose their freeze eligibility. We call for increasing this eligibility ceiling to $75,000 for senior households that have lived at the same address for at least 5 years.
- Expanding the senior citizens’ assessment freeze to also cover households headed by persons with disabilities – including, but not limited to, disabled veterans.
- Expanding the Senior Citizens’ Homestead Exemption, a separate program from the senior citizens’ assessment freeze, from $4,000 to $5,500.
- Indexing both the Senior Citizens’ Homestead Exemption and the senior citizens’ assessment freeze to the level of national consumer inflation as measured by the federal government.
“As prices continue to rise on everything from gasoline to household goods, many of our senior homeowners are struggling to make ends meet,” said Winters. “It is our hope, through events like this, to bring needed attention to our senior’s current plight. This legislation will go a long way towards helping aid our seniors and allow them to remain independent homeowners.”