SPRINGFIELD — Legislation sponsored by State Senator Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) to eliminate the need for an annual reapplication for the Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption has passed the Illinois Senate.  
 
The Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption, a residential property tax exemption for Illinois residents aged 65 or older, is designed to help senior citizens financially.  Most years, the information needed to qualify for the exemption does not change. But state law requires seniors in Cook County to file paperwork annually and in some cases, to make trips to county courthouses to ensure they qualify, creating a hardship for those the exemption is intended to help.
 
"The current law places an unfair and sometimes confusing burden on seniors," Cunningham said. "Forcing some of our most vulnerable citizens to repeatedly file the same paperwork year- after-year is not only a waste of resources, it could lead to a situation where seniors are denied a tax break they've earned."  
 
In order to ensure senior exemptions are not awarded to residents who don't qualify, Cunningham's legislation also requires the Cook County Assessor's Office and the Recorder of Deeds Office to set up a communications system to alert the Assessor any time a home receiving a senior exemption is sold. This safeguard would prevent younger homeowners from "inheriting" a senior exemption for the previous owner.  
 
"By requiring county agencies to share information about housing transactions, we eliminate concerns about fraudulent exemptions being awarded and we shift the renewal burden from senior citizens to government agencies that should be tracking this information," Cunningham said. “This will hopefully give piece of mind to our seniors in Cook County and allow them to live their lives without this time consuming exercise.”  
 
Senate Bill 1488 now goes to the Illinois House of Representatives for consideration.