Illinois Assisted Living

Illinois has many independent living communities, senior’s assisted living facilities and blended communities that offer seniors continuing or continuum care. It also has a few legitimately top-rated seniors living centers in this state, making it one of the very few to achieve that status.

The other interesting thing about Illinois is the senior living communities are dotted all across the state with no real concentration in any one city. Even Chicago, based on population density, has the same number of senior care facilities, on average, as the rest of the state.

Finally, there is a fairly even balance between independent living communities, senior’s assisted living centers and continuing care services, so seniors will have a wide range of senior living choices to consider.

Types of Senior Living Communities in Illinois

As seniors decide the time has come to downsize from the large empty nest to something more comfortable and manageable, they will have to take stock of their current health needs while also having a look in their hypothetical crystal ball to see how those needs may evolve over time. This is more than just a decision about moving into a smaller home.

Health issues will create health care needs that can and should influence the downsizing decision. If a senior is enjoying good health and a healthy and independent lifestyle, they may not need much more than a comfortable home that will be easier on their wallets and their backs. For those that are feeling the weight of their age and need a bit of a helping hand, the smaller home may not be enough. And, for those that feel fantastic today but based on family history, see that evolving into some level of assisted care, they may need a living solution that will evolve too.

There are three types of senior living communities in Illinois that can be considered:

Stage One – Independent Living

For those seniors that need nothing more than a smaller home that they can be comfortable in, an Illinois independent living community, sometimes referred to as a senior’s community, retirement community or 55+ community, should do the trick, especially if their family history suggests that this will be the case for many years to come.

These communities bring aging adults together in planned communities where life is far less complicated. For example, all of the home maintenance and grounds keeping are done for them. They never need to worry about mowing the lawn or shoveling snow again, and forget about having to climb a ladder to clean out the gutters.

They also bring seniors a wide range of community amenities that they can enjoy sharing. Club houses, a community pool, tennis courts and more are just a small example of the things that seniors will enjoy as a perk that comes along with their home ownership in these independent living communities.

Stage Two – Assisted Living

For some seniors, there may come a time when getting through the basics of daily life becomes more of a challenge than they are comfortable handling on their own. For example, one of the most common injuries this group of seniors will suffer are those that result in trips and falls. Hip and head injuries are the most common among these.

They are still capable of living a mostly independent and active life though. They just need a bit of personal attention with some of the daily basics to help avoid these potentially disastrous problems. So, a senior assisted living center, with a staff of professional caregivers, comes into play.

They provide basic care commonly referred to as ADL’s (Assisted Daily Living). This is direct assistance so seniors can confidently accomplish all of their basic daily hygiene requirements, safely get up and around as each day unfolds, get help remembering medications and have someone qualified that will regularly keep an eye on their health. Senior assisted living communities in Illinois do this and more.

Stage Three – Memory Care

For senior caught in the clouds of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, there is an additional level of care they will require. This goes well beyond assisted daily living and depending on the stage of the illness, it can make the entire decision process one they will need significant help with.

Seniors in this state need a more secure environment in which to live. They also need a more organized environment that has fewer distraction and less opportunities to create confusion. Then, they need specific therapies that help bring these seniors back out of the clouds so they can get more from life and their loved ones can rekindle their bonds with these seniors.

Memory care is most often offered as an extension of senior assisted living communities, but may also be offered in dedicated memory care centers. Since there is no known cure for these types of illnesses, those that need memory care will not require any other type of care facility so this decision can be made once and seniors will only need to transition once.

Evolving Care – Continuing Care

It is said that the only thing in life that is consistent is that it is inconsistent. Things change and the needs of seniors can change with them. This means that the decisions taken today have to consider the future since what serves as a good choice today, may not be nearly as good a choice in the future.

Continuing care retirement communities in Illinois take the risk out of making a poor decision based on today’s needs, without a clear sense of what surprises the future may hold.

Continuing care means seniors can start out living in an independent living community and should health issues arise, they can simply add assisted living services while remaining in place. They don’t need to worry about transitioning again and losing their sense of belonging to the community they have come to call home.

Top 5 Senior Living Communities in Illinois

In the state of Illinois, finding 5 great examples of senior communities wasn’t all too difficult, especially since two of them are rated as perfect 5’s. But we did look carefully all most of these retirement villages to ensure they met the following criteria.

1. Every community we considered had to have at least a 4-star rating.
2. That rating had to be as the result of at least 20 published reviews.
3. Those reviews had to include some that were fresh so we could be reasonably assured of consistency in their performance.

Here are 5 senior living communities in Illinois that met all of these standards:

• Presence Resurrection Retirement Community – 4.3-stars - 45 Reviews – Based in Chicago, Illinois, this continuing care retirement community has a long history of care that has been rated well by both residents and their loved ones. This is a large, multi-story structure that brings seniors, with varying degrees of care needs, together in a shared environment that is fun and supportive. With its great outdoor spaces, fine dining facility and numerous other amenities, this feels more like a grand hotel than any stereotypical “old age home”.
• Grand Regency of South Shore (formerly Coles Supportive Living Senior Housing) – 5-stars – 67 Reviews – Also based in Chicago, Illinois, this is also a large continuing care community that offers a mix of independent living, together with a senior assisted living center. Their focus in on keeping their community of seniors as active and independent as possible, so older adults that are looking for lot of freedom and only the care they need, should feel right at home here.
• Independence Village Senior Living – Reviews – 4.2-stars – 31 Reviews – Based in Peoria, Illinois. This is exclusively an independent living community for aging adults. It is part of the Dial Senior Living group, with other communities in Moline and Crest Hill. So, while this specific community doesn’t offer continuing care, the others do and that may make transitioning a bit easier.
• Brenden Gardens – 5-Stars – 22 Reviews – Based in the Springfield, Illinois, this is mixed community that includes independent living, assisted living and memory care. It is a member of the Five Star Senior Living group which are all well rated, though not as perfect as this one is. As a mixed community, there are lots of opportunities for seniors to mix and share amenities and activities that enrich their days while continuing to offer them as independent a lifestyle as their health will allow.
• Arbor Terrace Naperville – 4.5-stars – 24 Reviews – Home for this assisted senior living community is Naperville, Illinois. It also offers memory care, (they call it dementia care), as part of their continuing care offering. They do not include independent living though, as they are focused on allowing seniors as much freedom as possible without compromising the quality of the care they receive.

Cost of Senior Living in Illinois

Independent living communities and senior assisted living facilities in Illinois are slightly more expensive than the national average of $4,000 per month, but only by about $100.  In Chicago, where everything is a bit more expensive, the average rates jump to $4,700+. However, there are cities like Carbondale, IL, where the averages drop down to a more budget-friendly, $3,500 and there are individual homes where the prices drop even further. Note that these rates are for standard care and typically offer a studio apartment space. Larger senior apartments and specialized care plans will cost more, while semi-private living spaces will push the price even lower.

Illinois has a couple of “perfect” senior living places for seniors to settle into and many more that are very well respected, so finding a great choice here shouldn’t be all that tough.

List of All Senior Living Communities in Illinois

Don't see your city/town/village on the list? Please use our senior living communities search to locate all senior living facilities in Illinois. Search for senior living in Illinois by city name, county name or zip code.