Joliet's East Side Historic District and Upper Bluff Historic District still hold large, multi-story Victorian-era houses, many with long, full staircases. A few miles out, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Plainfield and New Lenox are filled with standard two-story single-family homes built mostly from the 1970s onward. Both kinds of houses put a bedroom and a bathroom at the top of a flight of stairs.
We install stair lifts in all 38 towns of Will County, from Lockport and Homer Glen to Crete, Peotone, Wilmington and Braidwood. This page explains which lift tends to fit which local home, and which state, county and veteran programs may help with the cost.
Joliet grew up on locally quarried limestone, and its older neighborhoods kept big Victorian houses. The Jacob A. Henry Mansion, a three-story red-brick home finished in 1876, shows the scale of building from that era.
Stairs in homes like these often turn at a landing or wind as they climb. A straight lift will not follow a turn, so those staircases usually need a curved rail built to the exact shape of the stairs. A three-story house may also need a separate lift for each flight, and we measure every one before quoting.
Most of the newer housing in places like Bolingbrook, Plainfield, Mokena and Frankfort is two-story single-family homes. Many have one straight run from the front hall to the bedrooms, which is the simplest and quickest kind of stair lift to fit.
Split-level homes are different. They have several short runs of stairs, so the question becomes which half-flight leads to the rooms a person uses every day. Ranch-style homes usually only need a lift for a basement stair, and townhouses often have narrow stairs where a slim rail and a folding seat matter.
Will County covers 837 square miles of mostly level land, with the Kankakee, Du Page and Des Plaines Rivers joining on its western edge. Steep hillside driveways are not the usual problem here.
The trouble spot is more often the front stoop, a deck or the steps down from a back door. An outdoor stair lift with weather-rated parts can handle those steps. For someone who uses a wheelchair, a platform lift may be the better fit than a seat, since it carries the chair itself.
About 13.0 percent of county residents are 65 or older, and 81.4 percent of households own their home. Owners can make permanent changes like a mounted rail, which is what a stair lift needs.
Veterans have their own grant options, covered below, and the Veterans Assistance Commission of Will County in Joliet can be reached at (815) 740-8389.
The only program in our list whose source page names stair lifts outright is the Illinois Home Modification and Assistive Technology Program. Several others fund accessibility improvements or home modifications in general without naming stair lifts, so ask each one directly.
Age matters for where you start. Residents 60 and older should call Senior Services of Will County at (815) 240-3050, and the regional aging office, AgeGuide (PSA 2), is at (630) 293-5990. People under 60 with a severe disability may qualify for the Persons with Disabilities Waiver instead.
Some programs, including the Habitat for Humanity repair program, keep waitlists because demand exceeds funding. Applying early helps, and we can give you a written quote to include with an application.
A statewide program for Illinois residents with a disability whose page lists stair lifts among examples of home modifications, along with ramps and widened doorways. Call the IDHS Help Line at (800) 843-6154 or contact a local Center for Independent Living for details.
A Medicaid waiver for Illinois residents under 60 at application with a severe disability who are at risk of nursing facility placement; it covers Environmental Accessibility Adaptations, but the source does not mention stair lifts by name. Call (877) 581-3690.
Provides home modifications, including exterior ramps and interior modifications, for income-eligible Illinois households with a member who has a documented disability; stair lifts are not mentioned on the source page. Call (217) 525-1308.
Funds health and safety repairs and accessibility improvements for low- and very-low-income homeowners through local grantee organizations, with waitlists; stair lifts are not mentioned on the source page.
Care Coordinators certified by the Illinois Department on Aging do in-home assessments for residents 60 and older; the source does not mention stair lifts or home modifications. Call (815) 240-3050 as a first contact for a referral.
A Joliet agency at 2455 Glenwood Avenue offering home and safety repairs and accessibility improvements as funding is available; stair lifts are not mentioned on the source page. Call (815) 722-0722 to ask about eligibility.
Offers up to $50,000 from the State of Illinois as a 0%-interest forgivable loan, including accessibility and interior modifications, though stair lifts are not mentioned on the source page. Applications are currently closed with a waitlist.
Pays up to $6,800 or $2,000 over a lifetime for medically necessary accessibility changes for enrolled VA patients. Stair glides are explicitly excluded, so this benefit does not cover a stair lift.
Grants for veteran homeowners with qualifying service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA in FY2026; the source gives ramps and widened doorways as examples but does not name stair lifts.
Older adults
1910 S. Highland Ave., Suite 100, Lombard, 60148
Veterans
2400 Glenwood Ave Suite 110, Joliet, 60435
Yes, possibly. The Illinois Persons with Disabilities (PD) Waiver requires applicants to be under 60 at application, Medicaid-eligible and at risk of nursing facility placement. Call (877) 581-3690. The Illinois Home Modification and Assistive Technology Program also serves residents with a disability at (800) 843-6154.
Residents 60 and older can start with Senior Services of Will County at (815) 240-3050. Its Care Coordinators do in-home assessments at least twice a year and can point you toward the right program.
The HISA benefit explicitly excludes stair glides, so it will not. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts, so a qualifying veteran should ask. The Veterans Assistance Commission of Will County is at (815) 740-8389.
Usually, yes. Turning or winding stairs in houses like those in the East Side and Upper Bluff Historic Districts need a curved rail made to fit, and a three-story home may need one lift per flight.
The office at 2455 Glenwood Avenue in Joliet is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8am to 4pm, and Wednesday 8am to 7:30pm. Applications are taken until one hour before closing or until the daily list fills. Call (815) 722-0722.
Applications for Will County Habitat for Humanity's HRAP Round 2 are currently closed, and there is a waitlist because demand exceeds funding.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
