Three Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District trustees along with their attorney Jayman Avery (center right) and Mount Prospect Fire Chief John Dolan (bottom right) attended the last regular fire district board meeting of the fire district’s existence on Thursday, Jan. 18 at Elk Grove Fire Station 11. (Tom Robb/Journal photo)
A bill to dissolve the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District (EGRFPD) advanced out of the Illinois House, is now in the Illinois Senate, and could be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk by next week.
The Elk Grove Township Fire Dept., overseen by the EGRFPD, ceased operating on Oct. 1 last year. At the time, fire district trustees said they were running out of money and would not have enough to cover their contract with a private company acting as the township fire department, because annexations by surrounding communities had limited property tax revenue to run the fire district.
State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-28th), the House bill’s chief Senate sponsor, and State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-55th) introduced identical bills to see the fire district dissolved by legislative deadlines in February. After meetings between Murphy and Mount Prospect officials, those bills both saw amendments.
The amended bills would see former EGRFPD Board President Carlos Maldonado work with Mount Prospect to wind down the affairs of the district. Once the state legislation becomes law, funds in EGRFPD accounts will be transferred to the village of Mount Prospect.
Former Des Plaines mayor and new state representative Marty Moylan inside the House chambers in Springfield.
An earlier court settlement designated that Mount Prospect would take over firefighting and emergency medical service responsibilities for unincorporated Elk Grove Township.
Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison (D-15th) attends a county board meeting. (Photo provided)
A measure introduced by Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison (D-15th) in April puts a special service area (SSA) ordinance adopted by Mount Prospect into effect so Mount Prospect can levy property taxes on unincorporated areas to pay for added costs of extending its fire coverage area.
Per the court settlement, Mount Prospect has already taken over the Elk Grove Township Fire Station and firefighting vehicles and hired additional firefighter-paramedics. Mount Prospect is now renovating the fire station.
The Elk Grove Fire Protection District fire station off Algonquin Road currently serves residents of unincorporated Elk Grove Township.
Moylan’s house bill passed first, by a vote of 112 to 0, on April 18, and was therefore advanced to the senate the following day, with Murphy signing on as the chief senate sponsor.
Murphy said regardless of whether two bills have identical language, all bills, including those moving from one chamber into the other, must be given three readings and votes before they can advance. Murphy said Moylan’s bill would move forward while her bill filed in the senate in February would not.
State Senator and Deputy Illinois Senate Majority Leader Laura Murphy (D-28th) watches debate in on the Protect Illinois Communities Act in the Senate on Monday, Jan. 9.
Murphy said Moylan’s bill was set for a first reading at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 1 in the Senate Local Government Committee before it was expected to advance for a second perfunctory reading in the senate before. If a final vote is successful, the bill advances to Gov. Pritzker to be signed into law.
The legislation was filed as a backup plan to dissolve the district against a failed plan to dissolve the district through a referendum.
Attorneys for the fire district submitted petitions to a court to place a referendum on the March 19 Presidential Primary Election ballot which said, “Shall the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District be dissolved and discontinued?” It did not give the context that the Elk Grove Township Fire Dept. had already ceased operations on Oct. 1.
That vote failed 48 to 5, or 90.5% to 9.4%. After the vote and with an amendment made to the original legislation, the two bills continued to advance through the legislature.
Mount Prospect, Elk Grove Village and Des Plaines, all approved a special service area agreement in recent years, which EGRFPD trustees never signed off on, to extend the three municipal fire departments’ coverage areas to include all of unincorporated Elk Grove Township.
Elk Grove Township Fire District truck.
When Mount Prospect, Elk Grove Village and Des Plaines fire chiefs learned that the Elk Grove Township Fire Dept. would cease operations, they scrambled to put that plan into place, including that calls from Northwest Central Dispatch and RED Center be forwarded to the appropriate fire stations over that weekend.
That new operational plan will remain in place until after the state legislation becomes law and Mount Prospect firefighters have the infrastructure ready to completely take over coverage of unincorporated Elk Grove Township.
The post Bill To Dissolve Elk Grove Fire District Advances From House To Senate first appeared on Journal & Topics Media Group.
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May 1, 2024 at 10:54AM
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