Legislative Accomplishments

• Tax credit for volunteers - Coordinated capitol press conference which garnered statewide media attention on the shortage of volunteer firefighters and the need for a $500 tax credit bill for them. After nearly 20 years of no traction, the bill passed the Senate for the first time, a House hearing was held and money was set aside in the state budget, but negotiations broke down between state agencies tasked with its implementation. Sen. Belt is reintroducing legislation on behalf of IFA this session.

• Fireworks - Despite having two fireworks companies and two lobbying firms working against us, spearheaded the efforts to defeat multiple fireworks bills and organized a press conference at the Chicago Fire Training Academy against the bills.

• OSHA respirator questionnaires - Addressed the problem IFA was having with IDPH not allowing EMS to perform OSHA questionnaires by passing legislation to remedy the problem.

• 10-year smoke alarms - Despite strong opposition from the governor's office and Realtors, overwhelmingly passed legislation requiring the installation of 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms in all homes built before 1988 in the next five years. Also worked with Chicago Alderman Gilbert Villegas to pass an ordinance through the Chicago City Council to require 10-year smoke detectors in the city of Chicago.

• Removed detrimental language on SB 37 (part-time pay into pension fund) - Spearheaded efforts to defeat bad language included in SB 37; the language would have required part-time departments to pay into the pension funds of their firefighters’ primary employers and would have had a crippling impact on part-time and volunteer departments. Organized separate lobbying days at the capitol specific SB 37 with fire officials from across the state and also coordinated ongoing conference calls several times a week to strategize with fire officials on how to defeat the bill.

• Ended free fire protection - Passed legislation that allows fire protection districts to pass an ordinance annexing properties which they have been assigned coverage under the 911 Act but are not part of their district. Despite the governor’s veto, worked to get the veto overwhelmingly overridden.

• Discounted tire purchases - Passed legislation to allow volunteer firefighters to purchase tires for their personal cars at a government-discounted purchasing rate.

• Secured funding for Cornerstone - After funding for Cornerstone was wiped out in 2009, spearheaded efforts to restore full funding ($475,000) in a fall veto session so that over 13,000 firefighters could continue training. In 2010, successfully amended the Fire Prevention Act so that 2.5% is automatically directed to Cornerstone annually from the Fire Prevention Fund.

• Self-extinguishing cigarettes - Passed landmark legislation requiring the sale of self-extinguishing cigarettes in Illinois.

• Arsonist Registration Act - Passed the Arsonist Registration Act and received “Friends of the Angels Award” on behalf of Survivors of Our Lady of the Angels Fire.

• Saved fire prevention funding - Prevented a $20 million raid of the fire prevention fund in 2004.

• Sprinklers in student housing - Passed legislation requiring dorms and housing for fraternities and sororities to be retrofitted with sprinklers.

• Defeated fireworks legislation - Successfully defeated countless attempts both at the local and state level to legalize fireworks in Illinois despite legalized expansion in the rest of the country.

• Hydrants at mobile home parks - Despite massive opposition from corporations that owned mobile home parks, passed legislation requiring working fire hydrants in mobile home parks.

• Elevators - Passed legislation to completely overhaul the Elevator Regulation Act, giving units of local government more control and more representation on the Elevator Safety Board.

• Pyrotechnic industry - Passed legislation to regulate the pyrotechnic industry.

• Addressed first responder impersonation - Passed legislation to make it a felony to impersonate a first responder.

• Volunteer job protection - Passed Volunteer Firefighter Job Protection Act, so that volunteers could not be penalized for being late or absent from work if they were responding to an emergency.

• Emergency phone line shut off - Passed legislation requiring phone companies to notify local authorities when an emergency phone line is shut off.

• Water pump shut off - Corrected a situation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which wanted to shut off water pumps if the PSI dipped below 20. At the IFA’s request, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee introduced legislation to address the problem, which led to the EPA director reversing the policy and instead using alarm notification.

• School inspections - Passed legislation to allow the fire service to be involved in the process for inspecting public schools, of which it had previously been totally shut out.

• Defeated 13D ban - Defeated legislation which would have made it illegal for a unit of local government to adopt a residential sprinkler requirement. Similar legislation has passed in over 17 states including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Texas.

• Ban on fake fire safety devices - Passed legislation banning the manufacture and sale of fake smoke detectors, sprinkler heads, etc., which are actually security cameras.

• Opticom devices - Passed legislation making Illinois the first state in the nation to ban Opticom devices in private vehicles.

• Ban torching by unlicensed contractors - Passed legislation to prohibit individuals not working for a licensed roofing contractor from performing torching techniques on roofs.