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Wisconsin firefighters booed at Illinois homecoming parade, they say

By
Published  October 12, 2024 7:50pm CDT
Wisconsin
FOX 32 Chicago

WI firefighters booed at IL parade, they say

A group of Wisconsin firefighters said they were booed at a homecoming parade in Illinois this week while actively serving the city across the state line.

The Brief

    • Beloit firefighters said they were booed at the South Beloit, Illinois homecoming parade on Friday.
    • Those firefighters are actively serving the city across the state line as part of a shared services agreement.
    • South Beloit's city administrator said she spoke to the firefighters and feels the allegations are overblown.

BELOIT, Wis. - A group of Wisconsin firefighters said they were booed at a homecoming parade in Illinois this week while actively serving the city across the state line.

Starting on Friday, town of Beloit firefighters began staffing a station in the city of South Beloit, Illinois. City leaders said it's the first-of-its-kind shared services agreement to extend across a state border.

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The town of Beloit said, on their first day on the job, the town's firefighters were booed while taking part in the South Beloit homecoming parade and, in a Facebook post, criticized the public for doing so.

South Beloit City Administrator Sonya Hoppes told FOX6 News she feels the allegations are overblown. After talking with the firefighters, she said they received more praise than problems. 

"When major change happens, people have to be upset with somebody, and I don't think that it's ever been at the people wearing that uniform and operating our machines," she said. "Those people are the heroes. They're local heroes in both communities."

The solution came after South Beloit couldn't hire enough part-time employees. The Illinois city is paying the Wisconsin town a little more than $6 million through 2029 for its employees to staff a fire station, engine and ambulance.

Hoppes said the contract was voted on and approved in April, and the plan was to have the program up and running by July. It kept being delayed because the firefighter-paramedics needed to apply for Illinois state licenses, too.

The Source

  • Information in this story came from the Beloit Township Fire Department and South Beloit City Administrator Sonya Hoppes.