Assisted Living in Illinois

Seniors in Illinois may seek assisted living to secure a safe, maintenance-free lifestyle as they age. There are two main types of community in Illinois: assisted living establishments and shared housing establishments. Both must offer assistance with activities of daily living, meals, and supervision.^[01] The average monthly cost of assisted living in Illinois is about $5,300, according to A Place for Mom’s proprietary data.^[02] At this price point, Illinois assisted living costs slightly more than the national average.

The average monthly cost of assisted living in Illinois is about $5,300, according to A Place for Mom’s proprietary data. This is around $200 more than the national median cost, making Illinois a bit more costly than other locations in the U.S.^[02] These numbers refer to the final monthly costs paid by seniors living in our partner communities.

In Illinois, costs at A Place for Mom’s partner communities typically range from roughly $3,100 to just under $7,700 a month. Communities in large metropolitan areas like Chicago generally cost more than facilities in smaller or more rural locations. Costs can also vary by amenities provided, the level of care needed, and the community’s pricing structure.

Illinois divides their assisted living facilities into the following categories:^[01]

• Assisted living establishments
• Shared housing establishments

Shared housing establishments may offer lower monthly rates than assisted living establishments. They house a maximum of 16 residents and allow double-occupancy rooms, while assisted living establishments only allow one occupant per room.

Monthly cost figures in these communities generally cover a senior’s complete care needs, including:

• Assistance with activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing, and personal grooming
• 24-hour supervision and monitoring
• Three meals a day, plus snacks
• Laundry and housekeeping services
• Assistance with personal medication management or medication administration
• Planned social events and scheduled activities

Factors that affect the cost of assisted living in Illinois may include:

• Location. Facilities located in rural areas often cost less than those in urban centers.
• Cognitive support services. Some communities offer housing to seniors with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia. Unique therapies and additional safety features may add to monthly costs.
• Services and amenities. Additional amenities, like on-site beauty salons, contracted visiting therapists, and at-cost transportation may add to an assisted living bill.
• Occupancy. Units in Illinois are designed for one resident by default, with exceptions made for seniors who would prefer to live together in shared housing establishments. No more than two residents can share a room.
• Age. Interestingly, assisted living communities in Illinois only require 80% of residents to be over the age of 55. Apartments for younger or more physically able residents may be less expensive.

Medicare and Medicaid may also help offset some of the costs of medical care expenses in an assisted living community for qualified seniors. Read on to learn how seniors and their families typically pay for assisted living in Illinois.

A senior’s individual budget, needs, and preferences can affect the ways they choose to pay for care. Across the board, the sooner you’re able to evaluate your family’s budget, the more options you may have available.

This is especially true if your aging relative has not yet signed up for Medicare, or if they plan to apply for public assistance programs, such as Medicaid home and community based services (HCBS) waivers or stipends from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), both of which are available for lower-income seniors in Illinois, but may have a waiting period. If you plan to use Medicare or Medicaid to cover any medical services in assisted living, an application or spend-down period may apply.

Many families use a combination of private funds and public payment methods to cover the costs of assisted living. For a high-level overview of payment options, consult our complete guide to paying for long-term care and review the information provided below.

The Illinois Department of Public Health regulates and licenses both assisted living establishments and shared housing establishments.

All assisted living facilities and shared housing establishments in Illinois must be licensed and inspected by the state, no matter the size or level of care they provide. Inspections take the age and health care needs of residents, medication management guidelines, and safety standards into account.

• Age and health care needs of residents: At least 80% of residents in any given community must be over the age of 55. Residents must not need assistance with more than two activities of daily living or any type of skilled nursing care.
• Medication management requirements: Medication must be self-administered or administered by licensed personnel as an optional add-on service.
• Safety standards: Facilities must comply with National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Codes.
• Resident assessment requirements: Residents must be evaluated based on physical, cognitive, and psychosocial conditions within 120 days of move in. Subsequent assessments are required annually.
• Occupancy: No more than two people can occupy a unit in an assisted living establishment. Two individuals are only allowed in a unit if they’ve expressly chosen to cohabitate. There aren’t regulations regarding the number of occupants in a shared housing establishment room.

Staffing requirements for Illinois assisted living facilities

All facilities in Illinois must offer 24-hour supervision, but requirements vary by community type and dementia care licensing.

Assisted living establishments:

• Must have at least one direct care staff member certified in CPR awake and available at all times
• Must have a full-time manager who’s completed requisite state eldercare training
• Must have a board-approved administrator over 21 years of age

Shared housing establishments:

• Must have a manager located within 30 minutes’ driving distance who can be contacted via an electronic communication device
• Must have at least one staff member on site at all times, except in specified situations, including transporting a resident to the emergency room or trips to the grocery store during which the staff person would only be away for only a brief period of time

Communities licensed to care for residents with dementia:

• Must provide at least 1.4 hours of individual services per resident per day
• Must have a manager or administrator over 21 years of age with either two years dementia management experience or a college degree with documented coursework in dementia care
• Must ensure a representative is designated for each resident

After a facility becomes licensed, they must renew their license yearly and undergo annual inspections by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Understanding Illinois’ system of regulation and records

We developed a system to rate each state based on the ease of information access. In other words, how easy — or difficult — it is to find important assisted living records and reports.

States with the most transparent records allow you to look up important information about each assisted living facility online, including inspections, complaints, survey results, violations, capacity, and Medicaid acceptance.

Access to Illinois assisted living records: Moderate

Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Illinois is moderate. Key findings that informed this rating include:

• Illinois was marked down somewhat in our rankings because it does not provide inspection reports online.
• Illinois has below average openness and accessibility of assisted living information.

How to look up Illinois assisted living licenses and records

For a simple list of licensed providers, visit the licensed establishments list.

• Visit Illinois’ Information Reports on Long-Term Care Facilities to find information about the backgrounds of communities. This information is self-reported by the communities and is not a database of survey reports or inspections.
• You can also visit the US Administration on Aging’s Eldercare Locator to locate the appropriate long-term-care ombudsman. The long-term care ombudsman can often provide specific information about communities and their backgrounds.
• If you need to make a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get records, consider browsing the state-by-state resources from the National Freedom of Information Coalition, which includes sample state-specific FOIA letters.

How we arrived at our Illinois rating

We developed a standard methodology for state data collection and evaluation, and we based our rating primarily on the objective, state-specific accessibility criteria outlined in these questions:

1. Are licensed assisted living communities listed online in any form? Yes
2. If Yes to #1, is the information updated frequently? No
3. If Yes to #1, is the list of licensed communities searchable? Yes
4. Does the state post inspections, complaints, survey results, or violations online? No
5. If Yes to #4, is the information updated frequently (within 90 days)? No, or not applicable
6. If Yes to #2 and #4, is the enforcement information included in the same place as licensed communities? No, or not applicable
7. If Yes to #4 and No to #6, are violations and inspections searchable at all? No
8. Is information about special licensing for care shown? Yes
9. Is capacity shown? Yes
10. Are payment types shown (e.g., Medicaid, private pay)? No
11. Is the administrator/contact name shown? No
12. Can the state fine a facility? Yes
13. What is the frequency of inspections? Every 12 months
14. Does the website include pricing of facilities? No