Nursing home landlords bankroll Harmon amid property tax fight

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon is the nursing home industry’s politician of choice as it fights to resurrect a bill that would provide tens of millions of dollars in property tax breaks to landlords in Cook County.

Harmon’s behind-the-scenes support for the legislation follows significant campaign contributions from the Health Care Council of Illinois, an industry trade group representing nursing home interests, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The group has donated more than $2 million to Harmon’s political accounts, including $700,000 in the past year.

The proposed legislation aims to reclassify private, for-profit nursing homes in Chicago and the inner suburbs as residential properties instead of commercial, which would reduce their property taxes by millions of dollars. Although the tax relief measure passed the General Assembly in May, Governor J.B. Pritzker vetoed it in August, citing concerns about the potential impact on suburban Cook County homeowners and small businesses.

The health care group is lobbying to override Pritzker’s veto, emphasizing the potential benefits for the 300 nursing homes in Cook County. It argues that the tax relief could save them approximately $50 million annually, which could be reinvested to improve care for elderly residents.

While Harmon’s public stance on the potential veto override remains unclear, he is “waiting to see what the House does or does not do,” his spokesperson told the outlet. Meanwhile, Ron Nunziato, the health care council’s senior director of policy and regulatory affairs, pointed out that Harmon has a track record of being an “advocate and supporter” of nursing homes. 

Moreover, Jacob Butcher, Harmon’s Senate chief of staff, formerly lobbied for the health care council and his law firm received over $250,000 in consulting fees from Harmon’s campaign funds.

As discussions continue, there is growing interest in the legislature’s response, with members of the General Assembly considering a more comprehensive approach to assist nursing homes. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has also come under scrutiny for receiving a $50,000 contribution from the health care council, contributing to a total of $1.2 million since 2019.

If an override vote were to occur, it would happen within the next couple of weeks. But at this point, an override seems unlikely, according to Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, the chief sponsor of the overarching legislation.

Meanwhile, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch — a favorite of the nursing home industry in the state government’s lower chamber — told the newspaper he “is going to follow the will of the caucus, so we’ll know more once we have a better understanding of the status of negotiations with the bill sponsors in the House and Senate.”

Welch’s campaign fund got a $50,000 contribution from the health care council last month, the outlet reported, and the group has given $1.2 million to the Democrat from the western suburb of Hillside since 2019.

—Quinn Donoghue 

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