SESSER - James "Shib" Miller left behind a legacy of dedication and service to the Sesser Fire Protection District after being killed in the line of duty on July 27.

Miller died after being struck by a Greyhound bus while loading up equipment after he and other firefighters extinguished a truck fire on Interstate 57 in Franklin County.

Volunteers with the protection district and Southern Illinois legislators are now showing their dedication to Shib and pushing hard for a law in his honor that will tighten penalties and give authority to emergency personnel.

"I am getting legislation ready to pass in Springfield where a first responder would come upon a wreck, let's say on Interstate 57, and they now legally cannot block the traffic until a state cop gets there," Illinois Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, explained. "If an ambulance and a fire department get there before the state police and the road needs to get blocked, they will have the authority to do that with this legislation. A lot of the time an ambulance can get to the scene before the state police and they are saying that they need to be able to shut down the road as soon as they get there. They should be able to do that and have that authority."

Forby said he believes a law allowing emergency personnel to take necessary precautions could enable them to save other lives and protect themselves.

"We've got about 3,500 (petitions urging passage of the legislation) signed at this time," said Kim Scott, volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Sesser Fire Protection District. "We were passing them out during the funeral and visitation and any time we go anywhere we are taking copies with us and getting them signed. We had some going all the way as far north as Chicago."

Scott said Southern Illinois residents have been very supportive of the petition effort and she hopes that support will be echoed in the state government.

"A lot of people are very supportive," she said. "They understand because on this petition it says what happened to our firefighter and they see why we need this law."

Scott said she has been told by legislators that January is the deadline for having petitions signed and submitted.

"What we are doing is getting as much as possible," she said. "We are being told by our legislators that it will be introduced in January. We have Sen. Forby and Rep. (John) Bradley. They have worked really close with us."

Scott said along with giving emergency personnel authority to close roadways, Shib's Law also calls for stricter penalties to anyone who runs over an emergency responder.

"When a state worker gets killed or hit the driver can be fined up to $10,000 or get 14 years in prison," she said about a currently active Scott's Law, which requires drivers to move into the farthest lane when passing emergency vehicles in service. "When someone runs over us there is no penalty."

tara.fasol@thesouthern.com

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