The Best Independent Living Communities in Cook County, IL

"I visited The Clare for myself. They are absolutely fantastic, and if I would go to a senior home, this would definitely be the one, but it’s a little too expensive for me. The amenities there were very good. The food was absolutely delicious, and the top floor was just like a fine dining restaurant and very elegant. It was really beautiful. "

"We are happy with Brookdale, and I put my sister there. It is very nice, and we just really like it. We like the people because they are very friendly. The place is very clean, and we feel comfortable. We were there last Easter, and we just came back few days ago. We just have a good time. We are glad we selected it. It is really lovely. The staff is friendly. It is very diverse. There are people of all nationality who works there, and I like that as well. It is just a nice place, and I don't think anybody will make a mistake putting their family member there. The scenery outside is nice. She has only been in there for a short while, but so far I will give it a 10. She has a private room, and it is spacious. She has her own bathroom with a shower. There is a library in there where she can take her wheelchair, go down, and read books. She can go outside, and if the weather is nice, she can sit on the porches and rock in the rocking chairs. They go out a couple of times a week, shopping if they want, and sometimes they go out to see a play. She has freedom to do things and not just sitting there. She does have options, and there are lots of activities. They play games. They all play bingo, but they play other games as well. I see 2 individual people playing by themselves like cards and mahjong, and they were playing games I don't even know. They do group games, but also you will see people sitting up playing games. When I am there late at night -- I consider late around 8 and 9 o'clock -- I see people there playing games and I think "Isn't it nice" because some people don't go to bed early like others, and they just want to be up doing something. There is always something for them to do, and it is just pleasant. Let's just say that once I get to that point in my life the way I see it now, that will be the place I will pick for myself. I think the food is good. They have a menu, and they usually have 3 or 4 choices of what you can have. If you don't feel like coming to dinner, they will bring it up to you. If you are sick, they will bring it up on a tray. When my relative went there and she walked into the place for the first time, she thought we were going to a hotel. She said, "Oh my God! Is this the place? This looks like a hotel," and I say, "No, it's not a hotel. But I hope you continue to feel like that while you are a resident." We are very happy. I like the place and the people that work there. I will highly recommend it. She is happy, and she likes it very much. "

"We visited for a tour. The young lady that we spoke with was actually very good, and we really enjoyed our visit with her. The facility was nice, but it just was not for my mom. It was very clean."

"I have briefly visited other nursing homes and assisted living facilities and I think this is one of the best. My mother visits almost every day, though, and I know that's one way to make sure that your relatives are well taken care of...The staff is always friendly and willing to make accommodations in the residents' schedules for visitors. For all residents, both those on the 8th floor (mainly dementia patients, some rehab) and on the lower floors (mainly in their own apartments with mini-kitchens), there are daily activities. For those who are mobile, there are frequent outings. Book club, story groups, bingo, exercise, ice cream socials...there's also a beautiful roof deck and indoor sitting area on the top floor with many couches and large windows overlooking Lake Michigan. Most residents dine together and food seems decent downstairs from what I've seen. The food on the 8th floor is pretty basic cafeteria style food, not so good. "

"You must realize Concord Place is similar to having your own little apartment, it is not a full service nursing home. If whoever you are looking for can manage on their own for the most part, this is a perfect place for them. The dinning room meals are included in the rent along with daily activities. They have additional offers for cleaning services (ie cleaning the rooms, bed linens changed, etc) I would not recommend having food in the room unless the individual can keep the room clean. No different than an apartment building, you will encourage rodents. My mother has been here for 3 years. Her room is always clean. We pay extra for a service to bring her down to her meals and help her get dressed and undressed in the evening. She is in a wheelchair. She loves the service people that help her. I have always found Jack at the front desk to be very helpful."

"The Breakers at Edgewater Beach was a very nice place. I wouldn't mind retiring there myself. The studios and the 1-bedrooms were much bigger than some of the other places we had looked at. The prices were comparable. The food was good. The facility was clean and upkept. When we sat down to eat, we were served restaurant style, which was great. They had a list of activities that seemed quite extensive for every day. The staff member answered every question I had and did a really good job."

"My parents have been living at Lincolnwood Place for a month now and we're very pleased. It's lovely, comfortable, and the assisted living portion was just renovated so it's all new. It's beautifully-decorated, fresh, and the apartments are all freshly redone. I'm also impressed with the staff that I met. The food is very good and we like it very much. They have a lot of different activities, like movies, and they bring in live performers. They have a book group, short story group, and poetry group. They also have weekly outings, and they have free transportation within 7 miles, a nice bus that takes you places. We appreciate that they're more affordable than some of the other places in the area. There are just some things like reminding them to pick up the trash every day."

"I had been to Celebrate Senior Living of Niles a few other times, because one of my husband's aunts and uncles lived there. It was nice. I went there again for a tour. The person who was supposed to take me around wasn't there that day. So, somebody else took me and she was kind of being rushed, because she had another appointment, but it was OK. The rooms were nice. The room that she showed me was being worked on, because somebody had just moved out of there. It looked OK. The dining area was very nice and they had different games like bingo. It seemed like they had things to keep me interested."

"We met with a young lady at The Sheridan at Oak Brook. She toured us downstairs, where the main living area is. Then we went upstairs to see a one bedroom. From there, we went down the hall to another side, and saw a one bedroom with a den. We talked of fees, and then we went back downstairs and saw the other activity areas. They have a big room on the top floor, like a big conference room or party room, where you can have birthday parties or reunions. She showed us the dining area, the snack bar, and the bar where you can get a cocktail if you wish to. She showed us the rest of the main area. It was a good tour. We were there for maybe an hour, and it was great. We did a lot of walking and took the elevators. We had plenty of time. There was no hurry at all. We asked questions and she gave us a lot of answers. Then, she sent us home with a booklet. This place is lovely and nice. The staff was excellent. It looks beautiful, clean, and well cared for."

"I toured The Roosevelt at Salt Creek. The place was simply gorgeous. The people were very kind. Even the young lady that conducted the interview (her name was Hillary), was very feral and very informative. She gave us a tour upstairs and the place. It just looked like you were at home. Very warm, comforting, and clean. Just very nice. This was the first time my parents had even considered looking at senior living. I had my mother with me at that time, and she was very impressed with what we saw. All the common areas were nice. I have nothing bad to say. It was clean. It smelled good. I didn't smell anything bad. Everything was in order."

"I am so thankful that we made an appointment to see Bridgeway of Bensenville because it was half the price of everywhere else we went and my aunt-in-law is getting a lot more at Bridgeway than most of those expensive places. The room is gorgeous. She actually has her own apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a dining room. I like their staff the best. They are very polite, very kind, and they watch over her if I have any problems. If I just call them up and ask that they check on her, they will walk down to her room and check on her no matter what time it was. It is a very nice facility. I had no problems with them at all and she is so happy there. "

"The Merion was very beautiful with everything brand new. The pricing seems good, but it felt like there wasn’t a lot of continuing care or wouldn't be enough care for what we needed. It’s good for someone who is very independent. The staff was very nice and upfront and said they have activities throughout the day as well as excursions. It’s a very lovely place. "

"Belmont Village is a place that we might have chosen if there wasn't an alternative close by. It doesn't really have continuing care in the same sense, but it does have a memory unit which I don't really want. Belmont has organized rooms and pods of ten to fifteen people with a common living room which makes it easy to meet people. It is something that can really benefit people that are not very outgoing. It's got a big gathering place which is just inside the door and a dining facility right next to it. It seems to be very pleasant. The sales woman seems to know residents by name in spite of the fact that there were a lot of them. A lot of them spoke to her as they passed by. I was impressed by that. The food was very good. Because we wanted a continuing care community, it was particularly appealing to us, but it did seem like a cadillac place for this. It is intended to be a different kind of place. "

"We went to Sunrise at Fountain Square. They only showed us the independent rooms, those that were vacant, and they looked fine. The building looked fine. It was very nice, very clean, and very well taken care of. The staff members were very kind. I also met the coordinator for the nursing staff of memory care, who was very knowledgeable."