Excerpts from centralillinoisproud.com:
Communities around the state will soon receive funding for new fire trucks and ambulances.
According to an Illinois news release, the Illinois State Fire Marshal James Rivera and Illinois Finance Authority Executive Director Chris Meister issued about $7.2 million in loans to emergency personnel across the state.
The loans are no or low interest and are made available through the Fire Truck Revolving Loan Program and Ambulance Revolving Loan Program. The loan programs are meant to assist cities and departments buy vehicles they otherwise might not be able to afford.
Across Illinois, 19 communities received funds for new firetrucks, and six communities received funding for new ambulances.
#1 by Chuck on November 24, 2023 - 3:05 PM
I don’t know why this is being made such a big deal over. First, 7.2 million dollars is nothing, especially when the state wants to hand out half a billion dollars to a Chinese battery manufacturer for a business nobody wants here. Stellantis is said to be preparing to ask for a similar amount to re-open the Belvidere manufacturing plant. Second, the original press release for this program read that the maximum loan amount was $200,000, which won’t even pay for 1/3 of an apparatus anymore, but last and best of all they showed departments which had already taken these loans out, and guess what – 15 had taken loans for $350,000, one for $300,000, and 2 with smaller loans of just under $200,000. If you tallied those up, you were left with a grand total still available in the program of $17,000. Great idea, horrible execution.