Galesburg Reporter

In a May 8 Facebook post, Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Aledo) discussed a bill that would give a tax credit to volunteer firefighters.

“Thank you to the Illinois Firefighters Association Foundation for allowing me to speak in support of SB 2253 – a bill that would provide a $500 tax credit for volunteer firefighters across our state,” he wrote. “Also, a special thank you to every first responder and fire department that responded to the massive pileup on Interstate 55 last week.”

The U.S. Fire Administration reported there are 27,181 fire departments in the National Fire Department Registry as of Wednesday.

"The number of calls to fire departments (is) tripling over the past 20 years," Margaret Vaughn, a government affairs employee with the firefighters association, told WQAD. "Bear in mind that the majority of those calls are for EMS services while the number of volunteers is plummeting."

Senate bill 2253 would give individuals who serve in a volunteer capacity for emergency response for at least nine months and is not compensated for the service as a volunteer emergency worker a $500 tax credit. If the bill passes, it will go into effect immediately. It was proposed by Sen. Christopher Belt (D-East St. Louis) on Feb. 10. Since then, it has picked up Senate co-sponsors, but was re-referred to the Senate Assignments committee on March 10.

The U.S. Fire Administration also reported the Midwest is home to 31% of the U.S. fire departments.

WQAD reported on a similar bill in the Senate last year, but there's no indication in the reporting that that then Senate Bill 3027 progressed

"We're more than just firefighters," Colona Fire Chief John Swan told WQAD. "We do EMS, water rescue, technical rescue (and) auto rescue."

According to ILGA.gov, Sen. Christopher Belt also proposed 2022's SB 3027, and the last action was Sine Die (session adjourned without action), on Jan. 10. That bill appears to be identical to Senate Bill 2253.

Anderson has served the 47th District since 2015. The district now includes portions and or all of Adams, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Mercer, Peoria, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazwell, and Warren Counties. When he's not serving 47th District as a legislator in Springfield, Anderson is a firefighter/paramedic in Moline.