Thousands of low-income families count on assistance with their home energy costs, but the governor has plans to cut funding. Who will suffer if this happens?

1. Top 5 Things
to know about
LIHEAPLow Income Home Energy
Assistance Program

2. More than 300,000 vulnerable
Illinois households use LIHEAP
to assist with energy costs.
This includes seniors, disabled
persons and low-income
families.

3. Governor Bruce Rauner is proposing to
eliminate the program July 1.
Without that help, the state’s most
vulnerable risk health and safety problems
like heat stroke and hypothermia.
How does the State of Illinois benefit
from funding this program?

4. LIHEAP is a federally funded
program to help the most
vulnerable Americans by assisting
with energy costs.
Every Illinoisan who pays utilities
pays into the state’s supplemental
program. This ensures more families
can be served.

5. An average American family
spends about 6% to 7% of its
total income on household
energy.
LIHEAP recipients spend
20 percent of every dollar
on energy.

6. In Illinois, more than 400,000
households received LIHEAP
assistance in 2010 and 2012;
more than 300,000 families
used the program in the
following three years.

7. Of 1,800 households surveyed:
• 40% have someone age 60 or older
• 72% have a family member with a
serious medical condition
• 85% of those with medical
conditions are seniors and
• 26% use medical equipment
requiring electricity.

8. Gov. Rauner plans to
eliminate the program July 1.
But he has yet to explain if
taxpayers will still pay utility
surcharges.

9. “LIHEAP actually allows me
to make it through
each month.”
- Larry Newland,
Winnebago County LIHEAP recipient

10. IllinoisSenateDemocrats.com
© Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus 2015
Learn more:
LIHEAP - U.S. Health & Human Services
Illinois LIHEAP - DCFS