Military veterans who are totally disabled or unemployable because of service-related injuries should not pay property taxes on their homes.  <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Illinois should do the right thing by providing property tax relief for our military men and women who have served their country and paid a heavy price.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

   In many states there is now an exemption for veterans that are at 100% disabled or considered unemployable.  I feel that the State of Illinois should follow in their example.  There are many veterans that are under 100% and currently have some type of property tax relief, but not at 100% like other states.

   Some states provides an exemption of the total appraised value of the homesteads of the veterans who have received a 100 percent disability rating or considered unemployable by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

   Shall the Constitution be amended to require the General Assembly to provide a real property tax exemption for the principal residence of a veteran, or his or her surviving spouse, if the veteran has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability or unemployable?

   Illinois needs to do more to help veterans who have sacrificed their health for our nation and state.  This will provide one way, at a modest cost, for Illinois to thank 100-percent permanently disabled veterans and the unemployable for their service.

   The money that this will save to qualifying veterans can improve their quality of life. Despite existing government benefits, veterans still have unmet financial needs that are tied to their disability. Unlike most other citizens, 100-percent permanently disabled veterans have very limited opportunities to improve their quality of life through employment and other means.  This Referendum is an opportunity for the state to at least partially offset this economic disadvantage.