Excerpts from ourquadcities.com:
The number of firefighters in Illinois is dropping, and responsibilities for the ones doing the work keep getting bigger. They also handle a lot of EMS calls.
In Illinois, there’s a new plan to help solve that.
The Illinois Firefighters Association wants a $500 credit on their income tax for volunteer firefighters.
New York recently passed a similar bill that gives volunteer firefighters a tax break.
Illinois’ version wouldn’t give as big of a break.
#1 by crabbymilton on March 28, 2022 - 6:09 AM
“What are your qualifications to be a FF/EMT? “Well I watch EMERGENCY reruns on the retro network.” “Excellent. Can you start tomorrow?”
#2 by Mike on March 28, 2022 - 6:04 AM
Wow….a whole 500.00 a year. What a slap in the face. And this isn’t going to do anything to help recruit and retain people. To become a firefighter paramedic in Illinois is 2-3 years of schooling. Most people aren’t going to do that to go volunteer for their community and looking at full time testing numbers. It looks like people aren’t doing that either.