Legislation designed to reduce property tax bills for Illinois seniors is now law.
The bill raises the homestead exemption for Illinois residents age 65 and older from $4,000 to $5,000. Gov. Pat Quinn signed it into law Tuesday. The move could save seniors roughly $200 a year. The new law also raises the general exemption in Cook County starting in 2014. The county has a 7 percent exemption cap while everywhere else in the state there's a flat exemption of $6,000. Now Cook County has a flat exemption of $7,000.
Quinn says home ownership is key to strong neighborhoods.
