McHenry County has two kinds of homes. In Marengo, Harvard, Hebron and Union, many families still live in older farmhouses near historic downtowns. In Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Huntley, McHenry and Woodstock, the streets are lined with two-story colonials, split-levels and ranch homes from the postwar and late-20th-century building years.
Both kinds of homes put stairs between people and the rooms they use every day. Across the county's 31 towns, from Wonder Lake and Johnsburg to Cary and Fox River Grove, a stair lift is often what lets someone stay in a house they have owned for decades instead of moving.
A two-story colonial usually has one straight staircase from the front hall to the bedrooms. That is the simplest job: a straight rail lift mounts to the stair treads, not the wall, and can often be fitted without changing the staircase.
Older farmhouses in the western towns are different. Stairs there tend to be narrow, steep, or turn at a landing, and those layouts usually call for a curved rail built to the exact shape of the stairs.
Split-level homes have several short flights instead of one long one. We look at which levels the person actually needs to reach, since that decides whether one lift, two straight lifts or a curved rail makes the most sense. Ranch homes often have just a basement stair or a few steps at the entry, which may be a good fit for a short straight lift or a platform lift.
The county's glacier-shaped land brings rolling ground, the Fox River and Kishwaukee River, and lakes around towns like Island Lake, Lakemoor and McCullom Lake. Homes built on slopes or near the water often have outside steps up to the door or down to a lower level.
Winters here are cold and snowy, with January lows around 11°F, so icy outside stairs are a real fall risk. An outdoor stair lift built for weather, or a vertical platform lift at a porch or deck, can take the place of those steps in the months when they are most dangerous.
About 16.4% of county residents are 65 or older, and 80.5% own their homes. Long-term owners are the people most likely to want to adapt the house they have rather than sell it.
If that includes someone in your family, the veteran programs below and the Veterans Assistance Commission in Woodstock are worth a call before you decide how to pay.
Many families pay out of pocket, but several programs are worth checking first. The one statewide program whose page names stair lifts directly is the Illinois Home Modification and Assistive Technology Program, which sends McHenry County residents to the Lake County Center for Independent Living for details.
Age matters for where you start. People under 60 with a severe disability can look at the Home Services Program, while people 60 and older should call the Illinois Department on Aging Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966 or AgeGuide (PSA 2) in Lombard at (630) 293-5990.
For lower-income owners, the McHenry County Housing Authority offers interest-free rehab loans for accessibility issues, and homes in rural parts of the western county may qualify for USDA Rural Development Section 504 help. Veterans should call the Veterans Assistance Commission in Woodstock at (815) 334-4229. Each program is summarized below.
A state program for people with disabilities who want to modify their home to live independently, and its official page lists stair lifts as an example. Call (800) 843-6154 or contact the Lake County Center for Independent Living for specifics.
For Illinois residents with a severe disability who are under 60 at application and need help to stay at home; it includes an environmental modification service, but the page does not mention stair lifts. Call (800) 843-6154.
One of nine statewide Medicaid home and community-based waivers, for people who meet Medicaid financial rules and need an institutional level of care; the source does not say whether home modifications or stair lifts are covered. Call (866) 468-7543.
Pays for in-home services such as care coordination, adult day services and emergency response systems for people 60 and older with non-exempt assets of $17,500 or less; stair lifts and home modifications are not mentioned. Call the Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966.
Interest-free loans for McHenry County owner-occupants with income at or below 50% of area median, from $51,000 for one person to $84,450 for six, to fix health, safety and accessibility issues; stair lifts are not listed by name. Call (815) 308-6046, as funds are first-come, first-served.
Funds health and safety repairs and accessibility improvements for low- and very-low-income homeowners through local grantee organizations, though stair lifts are not named. Demand is high and waitlists are long.
Repair loans, and grants for owners 62 or older, in USDA-eligible rural areas for very-low-income households; the source says accessibility work is only possibly covered and does not mention stair lifts. Eligibility depends on the address, so rural spots in the western county are more likely to qualify than cities like Crystal Lake or Woodstock.
A VA benefit of up to $6,800 or $2,000 lifetime for medically necessary home accessibility changes, but it specifically excludes stair glides and porch lifts, so it does not cover stair lifts.
Grants for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities to change their permanent home, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA; stair lifts are not named on the source page. The Veterans Assistance Commission at (815) 334-4229 can help with next steps.
The local Center for Independent Living for people with disabilities in McHenry County, and the office the state home modification program points residents to; its homepage does not say whether stair lifts are funded. Call (847) 949-4440 to ask.
Repairs for low-income homeowners, including stairs, accessibility ramps, grab bars and handrails, from offices in Gurnee and McHenry; stair lifts are not named. Applications are closed for now, so call (815) 759-9002 or join the Interest List.
Older adults
1910 S. Highland Ave., Suite 100, Lombard, 60148
Veterans
667 Ware Road, Room #100, Woodstock, 60098
Yes, the Illinois Home Services Program is for residents with a severe disability who are under 60 when they apply. It includes environmental modifications, though stair lifts are not named. Call (800) 843-6154, the same number used for the Illinois Home Modification and Assistive Technology Program, which does list stair lifts.
Start with the Illinois Department on Aging Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966 or AgeGuide (PSA 2) at (630) 293-5990. The Community Care Program covers in-home services rather than equipment, but these offices can point you to other options.
The VA HISA benefit specifically excludes stair glides, so it will not pay for one. Veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities may look at SAH or SHA grants, and the Veterans Assistance Commission in Woodstock at (815) 334-4229 can help sort out what applies.
Possibly. USDA Rural Development Section 504 loans and grants apply only at USDA-eligible rural addresses, which are mostly in the western agricultural part of the county. You have to check your specific address, and the source does not say stair lifts are covered.
Split-levels have several short flights, so we look at which levels you need to reach. Depending on the layout, that may mean one straight lift, two lifts, or a curved rail that follows the turns.
Yes, outdoor stair lifts and platform lifts are made for outside steps. With McHenry County winters bringing January lows around 11°F, many owners add one at the entry or deck.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
