Springfield still has a large stock of early-to-mid-20th-century two-story homes, including the streets around the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Out in Chatham, Auburn, Rochester, Riverton and the county's other small towns, you find ranch-style homes, split-level homes, townhouses and detached houses. Many of these were built well before anyone designed houses for aging in place.
Sangamon County has 22 towns spread across central-Illinois prairie, with Springfield as the county seat. Single-story and assisted-living options are limited and mostly concentrated in Springfield. For a lot of families, a stair lift is the step that lets a parent stay in the house they have owned for years. This page covers which lift fits which home and where the money can come from.
The early-to-mid-20th-century two-story houses in Springfield usually have one main staircase between the bedrooms and the living space. When that staircase runs straight from bottom to top, a straight stair lift is normally the simplest and most affordable fit. The rail mounts to the stair treads, not the wall, so plaster and trim stay intact.
Older homes often have a landing, a turn near the top or a narrow stairwell. In those cases a curved lift with a custom rail follows the turn. We measure every staircase in person before recommending one or the other.
Split-level homes have several short flights instead of one long one. Sometimes the bedroom flight is the only one that matters, and a short straight lift handles it. If two flights connect through a turn, a curved rail may be the better answer.
Ranch-style homes keep daily life on one floor, but laundry or storage is sometimes downstairs. Townhouses and walk-up apartments tend to have tighter stairwells, so the width of the stairs and the fold-up size of the lift both count. Renters should know that some help programs require landlord approval before any work starts.
Sangamon County is mostly flat prairie, so long hillside approaches are rare. The problem is usually a short run of porch or entry steps. An outdoor stair lift built for weather can cover those steps, and a platform lift is the option when someone uses a wheelchair and cannot transfer to a seat.
In the smaller towns, where moving to a single-story home in Springfield may mean leaving the community entirely, fixing the entrance and the main stairs is often the practical choice.
Per the 2020 Census, 18.7% of Sangamon County residents were 65 or older, and 68.0% of the county's 92,982 housing units were owner-occupied. That adds up to many long-time homeowners in older, multi-level houses.
The Veterans Assistance Commission of Sangamon County at 300 S. 9th Street, Springfield, can be reached at (217) 753-6680 for help with VA benefits.
Age matters a lot in Illinois. The Home Services Program (HSP) / Persons with Disabilities Waiver is for people under 60 at application, and its home modification page names stair lifts directly. People 60 and older are pointed to the Illinois Department on Aging and Senior Services of Central Illinois instead.
Most other programs listed below fund home modifications in general without naming stair lifts, and the VA's HISA benefit excludes stair glides. For local senior guidance you can also call AgeLINC (PSA 8) at (217) 787-9234, 2731 S. MacArthur Blvd., Springfield. Ask each agency directly whether a stair lift qualifies before you count on the money.
A Medicaid waiver for Illinois residents under 60 at application with a severe, long-lasting disability who are at risk of nursing facility placement. The IDHS page lists stair lifts as an example of covered modifications; call the IDHS Help Line at (800) 843-6154.
The HFS description of the same waiver confirms Environmental Accessibility Adaptations that physically modify the home, for Medicaid-eligible residents under 60 at application. Stair lifts are not mentioned on that page.
A Medicaid waiver for Illinois residents 60 or older who would otherwise need nursing-facility-level care. The source does not mention home modifications or stair lifts; call (800) 252-8966.
Pays for in-home services, emergency home response, adult day service and medication dispensers for people 60 and older with non-exempt assets of $17,500 or less. It does not cover stair lifts; call (800) 252-8966.
The care coordination and referral hub for people 60 and older in Sangamon, Logan, Mason and Menard Counties, and the local administrator of CCP. It does not list a stair lift or home modification fund; call (217) 528-4035.
A $4.5 million statewide program run through Centers for Independent Living that funds home modifications for people with disabilities not served by the Home Services Program. Stair lifts are not named specifically; call (800) 843-6154.
A no-cost ramp and home modification program for low-income residents with a documented disability, including homeowners and some renters with landlord approval, with a multi-year waiting list. Stair lifts are not named on its page; call (217) 523-2587.
For people with a developmental disability enrolled in a DDD waiver, with home-based adults eligible for up to $15,000 per five-year period for home and vehicle modifications. Stair lifts are not named specifically; call (800) 843-6154.
Repair loans up to $40,000 at 1% and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners 62 and older with very low income in eligible rural areas, which may include smaller towns outside Springfield. Accessibility changes are mentioned, but stair lifts are not named.
A lifetime benefit of up to $6,800 or $2,000 for medically necessary accessibility changes for enrolled VA patients. Stair glides are explicitly excluded; call (800) 827-1000.
Grants of up to $126,526 (SAH) or $25,350 (SHA) for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities. The VA mentions ramps and wider doorways, but stair lifts are not named.
Older adults
2731 S. MacArthur Blvd., Springfield, 62704
Veterans
300 S. 9th Street, Springfield, 62703
Yes. The Illinois Home Services Program (HSP) / Persons with Disabilities Waiver serves people under 60 at application with a severe disability, and its home modification page lists stair lifts. Call the IDHS Help Line at (800) 843-6154.
Call Senior Services of Central Illinois at (217) 528-4035 or AgeLINC (PSA 8) at (217) 787-9234. Be aware that the Community Care Program pays for in-home services, not stair lifts.
The HISA benefit explicitly excludes stair glides. SAH and SHA grants cover larger adaptations for severe service-connected disabilities but do not name stair lifts, so ask the VA at (800) 827-1000 or the Veterans Assistance Commission of Sangamon County at (217) 753-6680.
It can. USDA Section 504 repair loans and grants only apply in eligible rural areas, and Springfield is unlikely to qualify, but smaller towns and unincorporated areas may. Eligibility is checked address by address.
SCIL's home modification program serves some renters, but the landlord must approve. It also has a multi-year waiting list and does not name stair lifts on its page, so call (217) 523-2587 to ask.
Usually, yes. A stairway with a landing or turn takes a curved lift with a rail made for that staircase, while a straight run takes a standard straight lift. We measure the stairs in person to tell you which one fits.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
