Southern Illinois News

Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) is backing a bill that would prevent convicted arsonists from joining fire departments across the state.

Windhorst, a former prosecutor in Massac County, said that he prosecuted arson cases in the past.

“Today, I'm here in support of the efforts of my colleagues Reps. (David) Friess (Red Bud) and (Mark) Luft (R-Pekin) as they work to increase transparency in hiring in the public safety arena,” he said. “This specific instance we reference today should have never happened.”

Windhorst took Gov. JB Pritzker to task for granting clemency to “violent and dangerous criminals,” referencing the case of Jerame Simmons, who following a pardon issued by Pritzker, was promoted to acting chief of the Prairie Du Pont Fire Department. Simmons had been fired from that same department 24 years earlier, after being charged with attempted arson at his former high school, and for setting fire to a vacant house. The position is part-time, and pays about $750 a year.

“The legislation signed by Gov. Pritzker last January has arguably made our state less safe with rising crime leading the headlines on a daily basis,” he said. “The legislation filed by Rep. Friess and sponsored by myself and Rep. Luft, requires any person applying for a job as a firefighter in a municipal fire department or Fire Protection District to disclose whether they have been arrested or convicted of arson and allows a person or board making the hiring decision to consider that applicant's applicable criminal history as part of the process.”

Arson is a serious crime, and local fire departments deserve to know applicants have not been convicted of intentionally starting fires in the past, said Windhorst.  

“Requiring applicants to disclose their relevant criminal history as a part of the application process to become a firefighter just makes good old plain common sense,” he said. “Let us take a step back from allowing and inviting the absurdity we've seen by supporting this legislation that increases transparency and gives local fire departments the tools they need to ensure they are hiring quality individuals to provide critical public services.”