The state has unveiled a multi-agency strategy aimed at addressing the growing and varied needs of aging adults, focusing on coordinated services that support seniors both individually and across their communities.

The Illinois Department on Aging released “EngAgingIllinois: A Comprehensive Plan for Living Well," a landmark plan addressing the needs of older adults and caregivers.

The plan establishes a decade-long blueprint to ensure the growing population of older Illinoisans “can live dignified, engaged, productive, and meaningful lives at every stage of life,” the Department of Aging said in a news release.

EngAgingIllinois is a plan that “reflects our priorities and the state’s role in creating an age-friendly Illinois. We all want a thriving, multigenerational society, and EngAgingIllinois moves us toward that goal,“ Gov. JB Pritzker said in the release.

The plan was developed through a process established by an executive order Pritzker signed in 2024.

This process involved 15 state agencies, a 25-member Community Advisory Council, experts in aging and caregiving, and nine public engagement sessions held across Illinois. These sessions gathered input from hundreds of residents, according to the release.

“EngAgingIllinois represents a bold first step and a blueprint for action,“Mary Killough, director of the Illinois Department on Aging, said in announcing the plan. ”This plan is about all of us, working together to create a state full of age-friendly cities, towns, and communities.”

Priorities of the plan

With Illinois’ 65 and older population projected to grow 40% by 2035, reaching nearly 2.9 million people or 22% of residents, the plan arrives at a critical moment. It outlines strategies across four focus areas:

•Creating Livable and Connected Communities

•Ensuring Health for All Ages

•Investing in Caregivers

•Affording Aging.

Life expectancy across Illinois can vary by more than 20 years in communities just a few miles apart, the Department of Aging said in the release.

Poverty rates among older adults have increased 82% over the past 15 years, and one in five Black older adults lives at or below the poverty level compared to one in 13 white older adults, according to the Department of Aging.

Key initiatives in the plan

• CreatingEngAgeCentral, a comprehensive online resource hub for aging services and support, including information for caregivers

• Pursuing statewide age-friendly designation with implementation support for local communities

• Expanding affordable and accessible housing for older adults

• Integrating geriatrics training into healthcare education programs

• Launching a statewide caregiver awareness campaign

• Modernizing home and community-based services

Implementation will be overseen by a new Aging Illinois Commission with representation from state agencies and external partners.

Action Groups for each focus area will drive progress on the plan, with annual reports tracking outcomes. The plan will be updated every three years, the release said.