05.23.16

Durbin Announces More Than $1.6 Million in Federal Funding for Illinois First-Responders

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has awarded $1,635,535 in grants to fire departments and municipalities throughout Illinois.
  
“This federal funding will ensure that when fires or other emergencies occur in our communities, our nation’s firefighters and first-responders have access to the best resources and the equipment necessary to help protect them as they protect us,” Durbin said.
  
Under this announcement, the following fire departments and protection districts will receive funding for vehicle acquisition:
  
·         Gurnee Fire Department (Gurnee, Illinois): $386,364 in funding;
·         Mt. Hope-Funks Grove Fire Protection District (McLean, Illinois): $119,048 in funding;
·         Mattoon Fire Department (Mattoon, Illinois): $285,715 in funding.
 
Also under this announcement, the following fire departments and protection districts will receive funding for operations and safety:
  
·         Westmont Fire Department (Westmont, Illinois): $19,546 in funding;
·         Sugar Grove Township Fire Protection District (Sugar Grove, Illinois): $203,429 in funding;
·         Clinton Fire & Rescue (Clinton, Illinois): $39,610 in funding;
·         Sycamore Fire Department (Sycamore, Illinois): $52,096 in funding;
·         Winthrop Harbor Fire Department (Winthrop Harbor, Illinois): $67,924 in funding;
·         Grayslake Fire Protection District (Grayslake, Illinois): $12,000 in funding;
·         Village of Oak Lawn (Oak Lawn, Illinois): $144,182 in funding;
·         Champaign Fire Department (Champaign, Illinois): $183,478 in funding;
·         Park Ridge Fire Department (Park Ridge, Illinois): $25,000 in funding;
·         French Village Fire Department (Fairview Heights, Illinois): $97,143 in funding.
  
The funding is provided through the DHS’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program which seeks to strengthen the nation’s overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and fire related hazards. Since 2001, the AFG has provided approximately $6.4 billion in federal funding to first-responder organizations across the country to help purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, training, and vehicles. In Fiscal Year 2015, the program will award approximately $306 million nationwide.