SB1572 Summary

• Establishes an annual homestead property tax exemption of up to $5,000 from equalized assessed value for qualified police officers and firefighters with duty-related injuries, effective for taxable year 2022.

• Qualified police officers and firefighters must have suffered service-related injuries resulting in paraplegia, quadriplegia, dismemberment, or amputation, and must currently receive or have received disability benefits under specified sections of the Illinois Pension Code.

• Exemption continues for surviving spouses of qualified officers/firefighters killed in the line of duty as long as they do not remarry, and can be transferred to a new primary residence if the property is sold.

• Exemption remains available if the recipient moves to a nursing home or Veterans Affairs facility, provided the residence is occupied by the spouse or remains unoccupied but still owned by the qualified person.

• Applicants must submit proof of qualifying injury and reapply annually during the county's application period; county assessors determine eligibility through application, inspection, questionnaire, or other reasonable methods per Department guidelines.