State Senator Ram VillivalamSPRINGFIELD – State Senators Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) and Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) recently announced new legislation to help volunteer firefighters and EMT’s with their expenses.

Senate Bill 3224 creates a $500 tax credit that qualifying volunteer firefighters and EMTs can claim when they file their Illinois income taxes. It is designed to help volunteer firefighters and EMTs pay for expenses, such as medical and fire equipment, training, licensure, and even insurance. Villivalam and Barickman hope that reducing the financial burden of volunteering can help local fire departments to recruit new volunteers to bolster their efforts to protect the public.

"Volunteer EMS and fire services, like Hatzalah in the district I represent, supplement and boost the critical work of our firefighters throughout the entire state," said Senator Villivalam. "This tax credit will enable volunteer services to boost recruitment and continue providing lifesaving, high quality assistance."

“Volunteer firefighters and EMTs put their lives on the line for us with little or no pay of any kind, even though they have to pay equipment and training costs,” said Sen. Barickman. “This legislation will help offset some of their costs and hopefully make it easier to do their job, which is to protect all of us.”

Senate Bill 3224 has been assigned to the subcommittee on tax exemptions and credits.

Category: Press Releases

State Senator Ram VillivalamSPRINGFIELD – State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago), the newly appointed chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, sent a letter to his colleagues inviting them to reintroduce any legislation that Villivalam’s predecessor refused to give an open hearing.

“It has been widely reported that the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee from 2009 to October of 2019 conducted meetings and approached policy, as it relates to transportation issues, without making the public good and/or public policy his top priority,” Villivalam said. “As the new chair, I have vowed to create and implement an open, transparent and accountable process for legislation that will maintain and improve our transportation and infrastructure system in a data-driven, equitable way.”

Villivalam pledged to provide an open, fair and transparent process for all legislation assigned to the Transportation Committee this year. He also encouraged his colleagues in the General Assembly to notify him if a bill in the Transportation Committee was assigned to the committee in a previous year but never heard.

“I am committed to holding hearings throughout the state to enable local people to comment on the transportation issues that matter most to them,” Villivalam said. “The government works for the people, so it works best when everyone gets a chance to voice their opinions, and we legislators make the best, most informed decisions when we talk to both experts and the people whose everyday lives are effected by our decisions.”

The Senate Transportation Committee normally meets on Tuesdays at 5 p.m.

Category: Press Releases

Senator Ram VillivalamSPRINGFIELD - Governor Pritzker’s second budget address was today. His proposal highlighted funding increases for education, including an additional $50 million for the childhood block grant, a $100 million increase to Child Care Assistance Program, and a $7 million increase in Early Intervention Funding.

“I’m pleased to see Governor Pritzker propose a budget that will drastically increase funding for early education,” said State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago). “I represent many young parents who often struggle to balance child care while working a full time job, and I’m heartened to see the governor moving to lighten the burden of working parents.”

The governor’s proposal also includes a $50 million increase for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) financial aid program for university students, $5 million for a new community college apprenticeship grant program, and continued funding for the AIM HIGH program.

“The proposed increases to the state’s need-based financial aid programs for college students, the early childhood block grant, and fully funding our pension system are a good start to righting our fiscal ship and encouraging people to invest in our state. I look forward to working with the governor to bring real progressive change to our state.”

Category: Press Releases

Ram VillivalamSPRINGFIELD – Smaller businesses will once again be able to benefit from a tax credit for creating new full-time jobs under a plan announced by Senator Ram Villivalam and Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview). 

“Small businesses make a community vibrant and unique, and this encourages them to seek out more employees,” said Villivalam, a Chicago Democrat. “This tax credit was introduced during the recession, and it should not have been allowed to lapse under the previous governor.”

The proposed legislation would provide small businesses with a tax credit worth $5,000 per new employee making at least $15 an hour and working 35 hours per week. A total of $75 million in tax credits will be awarded, with the credit set to sunset after six years.

“This legislation will spur economic development and help create jobs,” said Elliot Richardson, president of the Small Business Advocacy Council. “Small businesses drive our economy and support local communities. Passing this important bill will send the right message to Illinois entrepreneurs, empower the small business community and foster economic growth.”

The legislation will be Senate Bill 3498. 

Category: Press Releases

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District Office
3851 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(872) 208-5188

Springfield Office
Stratton Office Building
401 S. Spring St.
Section C, Room E
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5500

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