Nursing Homes Ranked Among the Worst Illinois: 5 Key Facts

Last Updated: September 14, 2026

The ranking behind this headline is a February 2019 Care.com report that placed Illinois 42nd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia on federal Five-Star data. A state ranking describes Illinois as a whole in the year measured. The facility your family is choosing has its own inspection record, and that is what to read before you decide.

“Illinois is one of the worst states for nursing homes. Should that change where we place Mom?” The headline comes from a 2019 ranking, and the decision in front of you is about one building, in one town, this year. A state’s average tells you how its facilities scored as a group at one point in time. The building you are considering has an inspection history on file with the state and with Medicare, and those pages, plus what you see on a visit, carry more weight in your decision than any ranking.

What did the 2019 ranking measure?

In February 2019, Care.com published a ranking built from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Five-Star data on inspections, deficiencies, staffing and quality measures. Illinois placed 42nd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in that report, tenth from the bottom, with a total score of 3.18 on a five-point scale. Both figures describe the state as a whole in 2019.

The stars behind that ranking are published, facility by facility, on Medicare’s Care Compare. Each nursing home receives a rating for health inspections, for staffing and for quality measures, plus an overall rating. The health inspection stars are graded against the other facilities in the same state: under the July 2026 CMS Technical Users’ Guide, the top 10 percent of a state’s facilities receive five stars, the bottom 20 percent receive one star, and the middle 70 percent are split among two, three and four stars. That design means that in Illinois, as in every state with at least five facilities, about one home in ten holds five inspection stars and about one in five holds one star at any given time, and the question for your family is which one you are looking at.

What should your family read before choosing a facility?

Before you choose, read the facility’s own record. Care Compare lists each home’s inspection results. The Illinois Department of Public Health posts quarterly reports of nursing home violations, and its guide to selecting a nursing home tells families to visit more than once at different times of day, to ask for the latest state inspection report, and to talk with residents without staff present. The same guide notes that a facility must make its inspection reports from the past five years available to the public for inspection.

What should you do if you see signs of neglect?

If your family member already lives in a facility and you see unexplained injuries, a worsening pressure sore, weight loss, dehydration or a sudden change in behavior, ask the charge nurse or the administrator that day to have your family member seen by a nurse or physician, and call 911 for an emergency. Then report what you saw to the Illinois Department of Public Health at 800-252-4343 or through its online complaint form. The firm’s guide to reporting nursing home neglect in Illinois explains what happens after a complaint is filed. A state ranking, a star rating or an inspection citation is a reason to ask questions and a piece of evidence a lawyer will use. Proof that a resident was neglected comes from the resident’s chart, the care plan and the facility’s records, and for a pressure injury, showing what the facility failed to do usually takes a nurse or physician who reviews the chart. Robert Parker handles nursing home injury cases for families in Peoria and central Illinois.

Source: Patch, “Illinois among worst for nursing home care: Report,” Shannon Antinori, Feb. 4, 2019.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 2019 ranking mean an Illinois nursing home is unsafe?

The ranking scored Illinois as a whole in February 2019. The facility your family is considering has its own inspection record on Medicare’s Care Compare and with the Illinois Department of Public Health, and that record, plus what you see on visits at different times of day, is what to weigh.

Where do I read an Illinois nursing home’s inspection reports?

Medicare’s Care Compare lists each facility’s inspection results, staffing figures and quality measures. The Illinois Department of Public Health posts quarterly reports of nursing home violations, and a facility must make its inspection reports from the past five years available to the public for inspection.

Does a low star rating prove my parent is being neglected in an Illinois nursing home?

A low rating or an inspection citation is a reason to ask questions and a piece of evidence a lawyer will use. Proof that a resident was neglected comes from the resident’s chart, the care plan and the facility’s records, and a rating by itself changes nothing about a facility’s legal responsibility.

If a ranking or a rating has you worried about a parent who already lives in a facility, call 309-673-0069 and describe what you have seen; you can call before you have any records in hand. Nursing home cases are part of Robert Parker’s Peoria personal injury practice.

Need a lawyer? This article is part of our Peoria Nursing Home Injury Lawyer practice area. Call Parker & Parker at 309-673-0069 for a free consultation.

Illinois nursing homes ranked among the worst