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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) 
3programs are important tools for Illinoisans with disabilities 
4and their families to save for the additional expenses that 
5accompany living with a disability; ABLE accounts help to 
6build health, quality of life, and independence for people 
7with disabilities while protecting federal benefits and 
8encouraging employment; and
 
9    WHEREAS, ABLE programs offer a diverse range of investment 
10options, tax-deferred growth, and withdrawals free of state 
11and federal taxes when those withdrawals are used for a broad 
12range of qualified disability expenses, including education, 
13job coaching, transportation, accessible equipment, health and 
14wellness, and assistive technology; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 2016, the Illinois General Assembly passed the 
16enabling legislation for the Senator Scott Bennett Illinois 
17Achieving a Better Life Experience account program (Illinois 
18ABLE) to create a pathway to greater financial independence 
19for Illinoisans with disabilities and their families; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Office of the State Treasurer serves as the 
21trustee and administrator for the Illinois ABLE program, and 
22currently, more than 8,400 Illinois ABLE accounts have been 
 
 
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1opened with more than $132 million contributed since the 
2launch of the program in January 2017; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The Illinois ABLE program has helped Illinoisans 
4with disabilities and their families pay for approximately $44 
5million in qualified disability expenses to build greater 
6self-sufficiency and to help meet the needs of individuals who 
7live with disabilities in Illinois; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Under State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs' 
9leadership, the National ABLE Alliance (NAA) was established, 
10which is a 19-member, bipartisan consortium that provides 
11high-quality, low-cost ABLE programs to more than a quarter of 
12ABLE-eligible people with disabilities nationwide; the 
13consortium includes the states Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, 
14Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, 
15Minnesota, Montana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New 
16Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island and the 
17District of Columbia; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Today's average Illinois ABLE account balance of 
19approximately $13,600 is illustrative of the greater economic 
20independence and financial freedom achieved by account owners 
21with disabilities who are no longer trapped in a life of 
22chronic financial insecurity due to asset restrictions imposed 
23by their federal benefits programs; and
 
 
 
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1    WHEREAS, National ABLE Savings Day is August 14, 2026; 
2therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE 
4HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
5we declare August 14, 2026 as Illinois ABLE Savings Day in the 
6State of Illinois; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
8presented to the Office of the State Treasurer.