Dupage Policy Journal

Janet Yang Rohr introduced HB1877 in the Illinois House on Jan. 29, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, for taxable year 2026, the maximum income limitation for the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption is $75,000 (currently, $65,000). Provides that, beginning in taxable year 2027, the maximum income limitation for the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption shall be increased each year by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index. Effective immediately."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Property Tax Code to adjust the maximum income limitation for the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption. For the taxable year 2026, the threshold increases to $75,000, up from the current $65,000. Starting in 2027, this income cap will be adjusted annually according to the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index. The bill takes effect immediately, allowing these changes to streamline the process for senior citizens to qualify for tax relief based on their income adjustments, ensuring more seniors benefit as inflation affects the cost of living.

Janet Yang Rohr has proposed another 13 bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Rohr graduated from Northwestern University in 2002 with a BA and again in 2010 from University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Janet Yang Rohr is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 41st House District. He replaced previous state representative Grant Wehrli in 2021.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB1877	01/29/2025	Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, for taxable year 2026, the maximum income limitation for the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption is $75,000 (currently, $65,000). Provides that, beginning in taxable year 2027, the maximum income limitation for the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption shall be increased each year by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index. Effective immediately.
HB1873	01/29/2025	Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters includes all rights recognized by State or federal law, including the rights set forth in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the federal navigational servitude, and all rights arising under the public trust doctrine, which shall be understood and applied in a manner consistent with the spirit of the Act to maximize the full and free enjoyment of State waters by the public. Provides that any segment of a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part of the year, or that is actually so used, shall be deemed navigable, and shall be open to public access and use, unless the contrary is proven in litigation by a preponderance of the evidence. Provides that public uses in such waters shall include boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, and wading. Requires the Department of Natural Resources to protect such public uses against interference or encroachment as provided in the Act. Provides that no action or inaction by the Department of Natural Resources shall create a presumption, in any civil or criminal litigation, against the navigability of any waterway segment. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters shall be subject to specified protections and limitations, a violation of which shall be punished as otherwise provided by law, and, if likely to continue, enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Provides that nothing in the Act shall limit the right of any person to challenge the legality of alleged interference with the public right to access or use navigable waters in any appropriate civil or criminal litigation.
HB1874	01/29/2025	Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that certain property on which a community-integrated living arrangement is located is entitled to a reduction in its equalized assessed value in an amount equal to the product that results when the number of occupants who use the community-integrated living arrangement as a primary residence is multiplied by $2,000. Effective immediately.
HB1875	01/29/2025	Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Defines "immediate hazard". Provides instances in which an individual operating a bicycle approaching a stop sign may proceed through the intersection without stopping at the stop sign.
HB1876	01/29/2025	Creates the Carpet Stewardship Act. Provides that within 60 days after the effective date of the Act, the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency shall appoint specified members to a clearinghouse to administer and implement a carpet stewardship program. Specifies the duties of the clearinghouse. Requires the clearinghouse to be incorporated as a nonprofit. Provides that for all carpet sold in this State, the clearinghouse shall implement, and producers shall finance, a statewide carpet stewardship program that manages the product by reducing the product's waste generation, promotes its carpet recovery and reutilization, and provides for negotiation and execution of agreements to collect, transport, process, and market the old carpet for end-of-life carpet recovery or carpet reutilization. Requires the clearinghouse to submit, by July 1, 2026 and by July 1 every 3 years thereafter, a 3-year plan to the Agency for approval. Specifies the requirements for the plan. Establishes requirements for review of the plan and requirements for producers, retailers, and distributors of carpet. Requires the clearinghouse to submit annual reports to the Agency and pay specified administrative fees. Includes enforcement provisions for the Act. Establishes requirements for State procurement of carpet in the future. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.
HB1756	01/24/2025	Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, for taxable years 2025 and thereafter, the maximum income limitation for the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption is $75,000 (currently, $65,000). Effective immediately.
HB1757	01/24/2025	Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that property that receives a low-income senior citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption may continue to receive a partial exemption for each of the 4 succeeding taxable years even if the applicant for the exemption would not otherwise qualify for the exemption in the current taxable year because the applicant's household income for the current taxable year exceeds the maximum income limitation. Effective immediately.
HB1450	01/21/2025	Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates the Illinois Graduate and Retain Our Workforce (iGROW) Tech Scholarship Fund checkoff. Provides that, through the checkoff, taxpayers may contribute to the Illinois Graduate and Retain Our Workforce (iGROW) Tech Scholarship Fund. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Illinois Graduate and Retain Our Workforce (iGROW) Tech Scholarship Fund. Provides that moneys in the Fund shall be used by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for the purpose of awarding iGROW Tech scholarships. Effective immediately.
HB1434	01/17/2025	Creates the Health Care Facility Fee Transparency Act. Defines terms. Requires hospitals or health care systems to provide transparency, including written notices and proper signage, regarding facility fees, with certain requirements. Provides that a failure to comply with these requirements constitutes an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Adds the Health Care Facility Fee Transparency Act to the list of other Acts that constitute a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
HB1446	01/17/2025	Creates the Temporary Firearm Storage Act. Requires all law enforcement agencies to establish temporary firearm storage programs. Provides that a law enforcement agency may only store a firearm if the owner of the firearm fills out an application stating (i) that the owner of the firearm is requesting the law enforcement agency to hold the firearm on the owner's behalf, (ii) the length of time the firearm will be held by the law enforcement agency, and (iii) that the owner of the firearm agrees that the firearm shall be turned over to the law enforcement agency if the owner of the firearm does not retrieve the firearm by the agreed upon time. Requires law enforcement agencies to send notice to the owner of a firearm before a storage agreement expires. Provides that, if a law enforcement agency has a public-facing website, then it must describe its temporary firearm storage program on the website. Allows an individual or business that has a Federal Firearms License and is certified by the Illinois State Police under the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act to establish a temporary firearm storage program. Provides that a law enforcement agency may not use a firearm stored under a temporary firearm storage program for any purpose without a warrant. Provides that neither a law enforcement agency nor a private entity that establishes a temporary firearm storage program shall be held liable for damage to a firearm stored under a temporary firearm storage program. Provides that a firearm may not be stored in a temporary firearm storage program without a safe storage mechanism. Effective one year after becoming law.
HB1424	01/16/2025	Amends the Film Production Services Tax Credit Act of 2008. Provides that the credit under the Act shall include an additional amount equal to 30% of the Illinois labor expenditures generated as a result of work performed in Illinois by an actor who portrays, in the production, a woman working in a STEM-related field.
HB0045	01/09/2025	Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that a grocery store that offers a digital coupon to consumers shall make available a corresponding paper coupon of equal value. Provides that the paper coupons shall be easily accessible at the service desk and may also be placed in other locations around the store. Provides that a grocery store that violates the requirement commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Act.
HB1072	01/09/2025	Creates the Mobile Panic Alert System Act. Provides that the Act may be referred to as Alyssa's Law. Requires, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, each public school to implement a mobile panic alert system capable of connecting diverse emergency services technologies to ensure real-time coordination between multiple first responder agencies. Requires, for the 2026 fiscal year, the State Board of Education to issue a competitive solicitation to contract for a mobile panic alert system that may be used by each school district. Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code to make a conforming change. Effective January 1, 2026.
HB1074	01/09/2025	Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that it is unlawful for an income tax return preparer or a software company to charge a separate fee for the electronic filing of returns under the Act. Provides that it is unlawful for a software company to offer for sale a version of its tax software that charges a separate fee for the electronic filing of returns under the Act and a version of the same tax software that does not. Sets forth penalties for violations of the provisions of the amendatory Act.