Governor JB Pritzker held a virtual bill-signing ceremony via streamed video on August 24th to sign a new law sponsored by Rep. Dan Swanson ensuring any proposed fire service provider consolidations generate a response time study prior to the closing of any fire station or involuntary district consolidations.
The legislation (House Bill 3763) was an initiative of the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts to ensure that with the growing trend of consolidations, any changes in territory or boundaries is safe and will not have a negative impact on response times and that proper study is given to response time changes.
“I was proud to sponsor this legislation in the Illinois House, where it received a unanimous vote prior to unanimous passage in the State Senate,” said Swanson. “I appreciate Governor Pritzker signing this common-sense legislation to ensure especially our rural residents are not disproportionately negatively effected by fire station closures they sometimes don’t even have an opportunity to weigh in on,” said Swanson.
“I would like to thank the Representative and Senator for their work on this bill. This bill increases the assurance that lives and property in Illinois remains a high priority in the fire service,” said Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts (IAFPD) President Mike Dillon.
Joining the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts in supporting the bill was the Illinois Rural Health Association, Illinois Firefighters Association and former State Representative Don Moffitt, a current trustee of the Knoxville Fire Protection District. Moffitt, as well as Senate Sponsor Neil Anderson, joined Swanson in-person at his office for the virtual bill-signing ceremony.
More on this and other state issues can be found at Rep. Swanson’s legislative website at repswanson.com.