SB1295 amends Illinois law governing 9-1-1 telecommunicators and emergency medical dispatchers to add telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) requirements. The bill directs the Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, and the Statewide 9-1-1 Advisory Board, to develop trauma-informed, victim-centered guidelines and training standards for handling sexual assault and sexual abuse calls, and to establish training and continuing education standards for emergency dispatch procedures and professionalism. It also requires that telecommunicators who dispatch emergency medical calls be trained in high-quality T-CPR beginning January 1, 2026, using nationally recognized emergency cardiovascular care guidelines, including recognition of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and compression-only CPR instructions for callers and bystanders.
The bill further amends the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act to make T-CPR part of the definition and duties of an Emergency Medical Dispatcher. It requires emergency medical dispatchers to provide prearrival instructions and T-CPR under approved protocols, and it expands the Department of Public Health’s authority to license, relicensure, set education requirements, approve protocols and training programs, and enforce compliance. The bill also sets standards for instructors, continuing education, agency certification, and disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation of licenses for violations or failure to meet the applicable standard of care.
The bill’s impact is primarily regulatory and operational rather than fiscal or criminal. It updates the Illinois State Police Law and the EMS Systems Act to create more formal statewide standards for 9-1-1 and emergency medical dispatch training, especially around cardiac arrest response and sexual assault/abuse call handling. Affected parties include PSAP telecommunicators, public safety telecommunicator supervisors, emergency medical dispatchers, 9-1-1 administrators, EMS medical directors, dispatch agencies, and training providers.
The overall sentiment appears strongly supportive. The bill passed the Senate 54-0 and the House 115-0, indicating unanimous bipartisan approval in both chambers. No committee transcript was provided, but the voting history suggests broad agreement with the goal of improving dispatcher training, standardizing emergency response procedures, and strengthening caller assistance during medical emergencies.
There is little visible opposition in the available record, but the bill does impose new training, licensure, and compliance obligations on dispatch agencies and personnel. Any likely points of contention would center on implementation costs, training time, certification logistics, and the feasibility of meeting the new T-CPR and continuing education requirements by the effective date. The bill also gives agencies and the Department discretion to establish waivers, modifications, and testing/certification processes, which may have been intended to address operational concerns.
SB1295 amends 20 ILCS 2605/2605-53 in the Illinois State Police Law and 210 ILCS 50/3.70 in the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act. It adds statewide training, licensure, and protocol requirements for public safety telecommunicators and emergency medical dispatchers, including mandatory T-CPR training for dispatchers handling emergency medical calls, updated continuing education, Department-approved protocols, and enforcement authority for licensing and discipline. The bill affects 9-1-1 centers, PSAP staff, EMS agencies, instructors, and the state agencies responsible for oversight and training standards.
The bill appears to have enjoyed very strong support. It passed the Illinois Senate 54-0 and the House 115-0, suggesting consensus around improving emergency dispatch training and cardiac arrest response. No committee testimony or recorded opposition was provided, and the unanimous votes indicate a broadly favorable view of the measure.
No specific contention is documented in the provided materials. The most plausible areas of concern are practical implementation issues: the cost and time required to train existing telecommunicators, the burden on dispatch agencies to adopt approved protocols and continuing education, and the administrative work needed for licensure, testing, and compliance. The bill addresses some of these concerns by allowing rulemaking, waivers, and criteria for modifying requirements, but the record does not show any organized opposition.