Illinois Senate Bill 2751 waives building permit fees for disabled veterans' home modifications, ensuring easier proof of status and support for veterans and their caretakers.
October 2, 2024
Illinois Senate Bill 2751 waives building permit fees for disabled veterans' home modifications, ensuring easier proof of status and support for veterans and their caretakers.
It is a difficult reality that many veterans of our armed forces come home from serving our country with psychological and physical challenges and disabilities. Often, these veterans require specific accommodations in their homes to enable them to live as comfortably and independently as possible.
With this in mind, the Illinois Legislature has passed Senate Bill 2751, which amends the Counties Code, Township Code, and Illinois Municipal Code as they relate to building permit fees. Under this legislation, the requirement to pay a permit fee will be eliminated for construction projects on residential units in which disabled veterans live. This is specifically for projects that are being done to make improvements to those homes to accommodate the veteran's disability. As usual, all applications, forms, and other typically necessary paperwork will still be required to obtain a building permit, but the often-hefty fees will be waived. During the application process, those hoping to get fees waived must also indicate what the construction project will involve and how it is meant to accommodate them or the veteran who lives at the residence.
The bill also specifies that proof of veteran status shall be construed liberally, presumably to avoid the possibility of veterans going through such a rigamarole to attain the benefit of this legislation that it becomes impracticable. It also states that local municipalities may develop their own versions of what constitutes proof of veteran status. Still, again, the idea is to ensure the requirements for providing proof are not so stringent as to be beyond the bill's intent as introduced.
It would apply to veterans of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. National Guard, or the reserves of the U.S. Armed Forces and to caretakers of such veterans. The bill has already passed through the Illinois Senate and the House and will soon arrive on Governor J.B. Pritzker's desk for signing into law.
As State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth of Peoria stated, "Many of these individuals were willing to put their body on the line for us, and we should be looking at ways to support them here at home" to show our appreciation for all that these veterans have done for our country and continue to do for their communities.
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