(a) Beginning on January 1, 2004, a mobile home owned and used exclusively by a veteran with a disability or the spouse or unmarried surviving spouse of the veteran as a home, is exempt from the tax imposed under this Act.
     Beginning with the 2015 tax year, the exemption also applies to housing that is specifically constructed or adapted to suit a qualifying veteran’s disability if the housing or adaptations are donated by a charitable organization, the veteran has been approved to receive funds for the purchase or construction of Specially Adapted Housing under Title 38, Chapter 21, Section 2101 of the United States Code, and the home has been inspected and certified by a licensed home inspector to be in compliance with applicable standards set forth in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration Pamphlet 26-13 Handbook for Design of Specially Adapted Housing.
     (b) As used in this Section:
     “Veteran with a disability” means a person who has served in the armed forces of the United States and whose disability is of such a nature that the federal government has authorized payment for purchase or construction of specially adapted housing as set forth in the United States Code, Title 38, Chapter 21, Section 2101.
     For purposes of this Section, “charitable organization” means any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, or eleemosynary entity that solicits and collects funds for charitable purposes and includes each local, county, or area division of that charitable organization.
     “Unmarried surviving spouse” means the surviving spouse of the veteran at any time after the death of the veteran during which the surviving spouse is not married.
     (c) Eligibility for this exemption must be reestablished on an annual basis by certification from the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs to the county clerk of the county in which the exempt mobile home is located. The county clerk shall forward a copy of the certification to local assessing officials.