Cunningham moves to upgrade Chicago’s firetrucks and ambulances

SPRINGFIELD - State Senator Bill Cunningham advanced a measure that would specifically set aside funding for the city of Chicago to purchase and repair emergency service vehicles like firetrucks and ambulances.

"When there is an emergency, people want to know that a working fire truck and ambulance are going to arrive at the scene," said Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the Southwest Suburbs. "This measure will ensure that funds collected from ambulance rides will be used to upgrade emergency service vehicles and not be raided for other purposes."

Cunningham's legislation sets aside 10% of funds collected from ambulance rides and places them in a dedicated fund for upgrades emergency service vehicles in the city of Chicago. The city collects around $200 million every year from private insurance companies for ambulance transportation. These collected funds are placed into the city's general revenue fund where they are being used for purposes unrelated to emergencies.

"This is a commonsense move," said Cunningham. "This ensures that dollars collected from ambulance transport are used to fund lifesaving emergency service equipment."

House Bill 2977 passed the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday.