Illinois Firefighters Look To Attract Volunteers Through Tax Credits

By Andrew Hensel, The Center Square:

Illinois lawmakers are pushing for a tax credit to help alleviate a firefighter shortage throughout the state.

The measure follows a fatal pileup on Interstate 55 last week in which multiple fire departments responded. Seven people were killed and many others injured.

Many of the departments who responded to the crash site used volunteer workers to help in the recovery.

Senate Bill 2253 would offer up to a $500 tax credit for those who choose to volunteer with their local fire department for at least nine months.

Margaret Vaughan of the Illinois Firefighters Association said the state is in a crisis.

"Unfortunately, there is a public safety crisis going on throughout the state, and a lot of people may not realize it," Vaughan said. "The number of emergency calls has tripled over the last 20 years. The majority of those calls are EMS while the number of volunteers has plummeted."

State Sen. Steve McClure, D-Jacksonville, said the tax credit is a small step in providing big help to the state's first responders.

"This is legislation that will help us continue to make sure we have got volunteer firefighters and continue to do what we can to help them," McClure said. "For what they do for us, this is a very, very small bill,"

State Sen. Christopher Belt, D-Swansea, said 85% of Illinois fire departments rely on volunteer workers to keep people safe. His goal is to encourage volunteering through changes in the state's budget.

"I'm really happy to be here, I am really happy to get this moving, and I am really hopeful that this will be included in the budget," Belt said.

Belt said the measure has bipartisan support.

"This legislation went through last year with bipartisan support, and as far as this year, we are very, very hopeful that we can get this included in the budget," Belt said.

On Tuesday, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1750, which would reimburse the mandatory training expenses of an EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, or paramedic employed by or under contract with the fire protection district.

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