SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Cook County seniors receiving cost-saving property tax exemptions will no longer have to go through the burdensome of reapplying every year as a result of a new law passed by state Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates.  

“While we work to deliver comprehensive solutions to middle-class families and seniors through our bipartisan Property Tax Relief Task Force, we must ensure that cost-saving exemptions are accessible to all qualifying families,” Crespo said. “This new law will benefit seniors, especially those living on fixed income, by doing away with unnecessary bureaucracy and continue providing stable relief.”

Crespo worked with County Cook Assessor Fritz Kaegi to pass House Bill 833, which creates a five-year pilot program from 2020 to 2024 for qualifying seniors to continue receiving their Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption without having to reapply each year. Cook County was the only county in Illinois where older homeowners were forced by state law to go annually through the burdensome application process in order to receive this tax relief exemption.

Crespo’s law will ensure qualifying seniors do not miss out on much-needed exemptions. It was recently learned from the Cook County Treasurer’s office that as many as 26,000 Cook County seniors didn’t reapply for annual property tax exemptions and discounts, totaling an estimated $45 million in relief.

“With the Governor’s signature, I am pleased to see our state government speaking with one united voice on this issue,” Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi said. “Through intergovernmental cooperation and technological modernization within our office, seniors in Cook County will no longer be burdened with the need to reaffirm their age each year.”

“I’m grateful to Representative Crespo for his continued advocacy on this issue,” Kaegi added. “With necessary safeguards in place to prevent fraud, our office plans a swift implementation of this bill for the estimated 740,000 seniors who are eligible for it.”

RED BUD, Ill. – State Rep. Nathan Reitz, D-Steeleville, is applauding the signature of a bill into state law that would reduce the burden of regulations and red tape placed on gun owners, and to protect the World Shooting and Recreation Complex in Sparta from new overreaching regulations. 

“This goal of this legislation is to cut down some of the bureaucracy and overregulation that would stifle a crucial part of the Sparta community,” Reitz said. “The World Shooting and Recreation Complex is a destination for gun owners, and it needs to remain free of unfair government restrictions and added fees. Supporting this legislation is just the first of many steps I’m planning to take to reduce unfair restraints placed on law-abiding citizens who choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights.” 

Reitz cosponsored Senate Bill 1139, which added numerous commonsense exceptions to current laws including extending concealed carry licensing periods, clarifying law enforcement members’ exemptions for concealed carry and hunting rights and lowering the age restriction for military members to obtain a FOID card without parental permission. The bill also exempts the Sparta World Shooting and Recreation Complex, from the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act. 

“The World Shooting and Recreation Complex plays a key role in our economy,” Reitz said. “Getting rid of unnecessary restrictions will help the entire community, not just by restoring commonsense gun freedoms, but by boosting local tourism. I’m proud to support this legislation and to see it become law in Illinois, and I will continue to propose and support other measures to protect our Constitutional rights in Springfield.”