SPRINGFEILD - State Senator Bill Cunningham’s led a new law that sets aside funding for the city of Chicago to modernize and purchase emergency service vehicles, like fire trucks and ambulances. “Dedicating funding to emergency vehicles will help keep our community safe during emergencies,” said Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the Southwest Suburbs. “Money collected from ambulance rides will now go directly toward upgrading emergency vehicles.”

Cunningham’s law 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.

“Making sure our community is safe has always been a top priority for me,” said Cunningham. “This will make sure that we can continue to upgrade lifesaving equipment our emergency responders depend on.”

Senate Bill 2977 takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.