Why overriding Pritzker’s veto of nursing home tax break costs homeowners

A skirmish in Springfield is rippling out from Governor J.B. Pritzker’s veto of a bill that would substantially reduce property taxes for nursing homes while raising them for every other owner of real estate in Cook County.

If enacted, the relatively obscure measure could shift tens of millions of dollars in annual property taxes from nursing facilities to homeowners and businesses, Crain’s reported. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office estimates the shift could be even more colossal.

The bill would reduce the tax rate on nursing homes from 25 percent of their market value to 10 percent, aligning with single-family residences. Proponents argue this would offer critical relief to nursing homes facing rising property taxes and financial pressures.

Pritzker and his allies, however, oppose the tax break for the nursing home industry, pointing to its recent $700 million boost in state Medicaid payments. Moreover, data from Kaegi’s office suggests that the tax shift could amount to as much as hundreds of millions of dollars a year, with non-nursing home owners bearing much of the responsibility to fill in the vacuum that would be left in the taxpayer pool if nursing homes are given the break.

As a result of the veto, lawmakers must reconsider the bill. Both houses must agree in a majority vote and an overall majority of 60 percent of the legislators is needed to override the governor.

This lobbying tussle over the bill and its veto has largely gone unnoticed, as the provision for the tax cut was tucked into a broader property tax bill primarily addressing routine issues. Lawmakers are set to return to Springfield next week for their annual veto session.

The Health Care Council of Illinois PAC, representing nursing-home operators, has backed the tax cut, arguing that the industry deserves relief as costs of doing business soar. The group has made significant political contributions in support of the policy, with $100,000 donated to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon.

The battle now shifts to the Illinois House, where lawmakers will decide the fate of the property tax bill and the controversial nursing home clause. House Speaker Emanuel Welch is set to review the matter with his caucus before making a statement.

Meanwhile, SEIU Healthcare, the union representing healthcare, child care, home care and nursing home workers, clarified its stance after rumors that it favors an override.

“We consistently argue for living wages for frontline nursing home workers. (But) these for-profit facilities, which receive significant state and federal funding, have the means to meet these wage demands,” SEIU president Greg Kelley told the outlet.

— Quinn Donoghue 

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