Cass County has five towns: Beardstown, Virginia, Ashland, Chandlerville and Arenzville. Beardstown sits right on the Illinois River, Virginia is the county seat, and both grew up around 19th-century town cores laid out before cars were common. Out on the farmland, many families still live in German-settled farmhouses that have been in the family for generations.
Those houses were built with interior stairs and bedrooms upstairs, long before anyone planned homes for aging in place. For a lot of families here, the choice comes down to adding a first-floor bedroom, moving out, or putting a lift on the stairs that are already there. This page walks through how that plays out in Cass County homes and which programs may help with the cost.
Most housing in Cass County is older, owner-occupied single-family homes. The 2020 Census put owner-occupancy at 72.0%, which matters because a homeowner can make a permanent change like a stair lift without asking anyone's permission.
In the older town cores of Virginia and Beardstown, and in the farmhouses around them, the main staircase is often a single straight run. A straight stair lift rides on a rail fastened to the stair treads, not the wall, so plaster walls and old woodwork stay as they are. If the stairs turn at a landing or wind near the top, a curved rail is built to fit that exact staircase.
Split-level homes have short flights between each level. Each flight usually needs its own lift, and we look at which levels the person really uses every day before recommending more than one.
Walk-up apartments are a different situation because the stairs belong to the building. Renters should talk with the landlord first; some home modification help in Illinois accepts renters only with landlord approval.
Many detached houses also have steps up to the porch or a side door. An outdoor stair lift built for weather, or a platform lift for someone who uses a wheelchair, can handle the trip from the driveway to the door.
Cass County covers 376 square miles with about 34.7 people per square mile, and 52.0% of residents live in rural areas. Medical specialists are often a drive away in Springfield or Jacksonville.
As of the 2020 Census, 17.2% of residents were 65 or older and 13.6% of households were a person 65+ living alone. When someone lives alone a long way from town, being able to get safely to the bedroom and bathroom every day is what keeps them in the house. A stair lift is often a smaller project than building a first-floor addition, which matters on a fixed income.
Age is the first thing to check. The Illinois Home Services Program names stair lifts as a covered home modification, but it is for people under age 60 at application with a severe disability. People 60 or older usually go through the Community Care Program waiver, which covers in-home help but does not list home modifications.
A good first call for a senior is AgeLinc, the Area Agency on Aging serving Cass County, at 2731 S. MacArthur Blvd., Springfield. They can screen for whichever pathway applies. For a household member with a disability, the Jacksonville Area Center for Independent Living serves Cass County and can help with applications.
Low-income homeowners can also look at the IHDA Home Repair and Accessibility Program and USDA Section 504 repair loans and grants. Other statewide options to ask about include the IATP ATLOAN$ Program and the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption.
The VA HISA benefit specifically excludes stair glides, so veterans should ask about the SAH and SHA grants instead. The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs office at 111 West 3rd Street in Beardstown can help, at (217) 670-9577.
This IDHS program lists stair lifts by name among covered home modifications, for Illinois residents under age 60 at application with a severe disability, at risk of nursing facility placement, and with non-exempt assets below $17,500. Call the IDHS Help Line at (800) 843-6154.
This Medicaid waiver for Illinois residents under age 60 at application includes Environmental Accessibility Adaptations to modify the home, though stair lifts are not named on the source page. Call (877) 581-3690.
For Medicaid-eligible Illinois residents age 60 or older, this waiver funds homemaker, adult day, emergency home response and medication dispenser services; home modifications and stair lifts are not listed. Call (800) 252-8966.
AgeLinc is the information and referral hub for older adults and caregivers in Cass County and does not list a stair lift fund of its own, but it is the right first call to be screened for state programs. Call (800) 252-2918, or the Springfield office at (217) 787-9234.
JACIL serves people with disabilities in Morgan, Scott, Cass and Mason Counties and helps with intake for the statewide INCIL Home Modification Program, which funds ramps and interior modifications but does not name stair lifts. Call (217) 245-8371.
HRAP funds health and safety repairs and accessibility improvements for low-income homeowners who are disabled or mobility-impaired, through local grantees with substantial waitlists; stair lifts are not named. Call (312) 836-5200.
Low-income rural homeowners can get loans up to $20,000 and, if age 62 or older, grants up to $7,500, with combined help up to $27,500; the program covers repairs and removing health and safety hazards but does not name stair lifts.
HISA pays up to $6,800 or $2,000 for home accessibility changes for eligible veterans, but it specifically excludes stair glides, so it will not cover a stair lift.
These VA grants, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA, help veterans with qualifying severe disabilities modify a permanent home; stair lifts are not named among the listed adaptations.
Older adults
2731 S. MacArthur Blvd., Springfield, 62704
Veterans
111 West 3rd Street, Beardstown, 62618
Yes, possibly. The Illinois Home Services Program names stair lifts as a covered modification for people under age 60 at application with a severe disability expected to last 12 months or longer. Call (800) 843-6154.
Call AgeLinc at (800) 252-2918. The Community Care Program waiver for people 60 and older does not list home modifications, so AgeLinc can point you toward other options that may fit.
Not through HISA, which excludes stair glides. Veterans with qualifying severe disabilities can ask about SAH or SHA grants, and the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs office in Beardstown at (217) 670-9577 can help with the paperwork.
Usually, yes. A straight run takes a standard rail, and stairs that turn at a landing or wind get a curved rail made for that staircase. The rail mounts to the treads, so old walls are left alone.
Only with the landlord's approval, since the stairs belong to the building. The INCIL Home Modification Program, reached through JACIL at (217) 245-8371, accepts renters who have landlord approval.
Section 504 serves rural areas, and Cass County has no town anywhere near the program's size limit, but each address still has to be confirmed on the USDA eligibility map. Grants require age 62 or older and low income.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
