LT. GOVERNOR QUINN ANNOUNCES HEARTSAVER AED FUND GRANTS ***APPLICATION CYCLE IS NOW OPEN!*** The Heartsaver Initiative Aims to Make Defibrillators as Common as Fire Extinguishers

(CHAMPAIGN) - Today, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn announced new matching grant opportunities from the Heartsaver AED Fund. Administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Heartsaver AED Fund will provide 50 % matching grants for defibrillator purchases to public schools, park districts, and public colleges and universities.

The application cycle opened August 1 and applications will be reviewed and approved on a first-come, first-serve basis. As of Monday, August 21, 386 applications have been filed.

Earl Stevens recounted how the quick application of an AED by his co-workers saved his life when he collapsed on the job at Kraft Foods in October 2004.

Each year, more than 250,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest.

"Our goal with the Illinois Heartsaver Initiative is to make defibrillators as common as fire extinguishers in our state," Quinn said. "Today, I encourage the people of Illinois to voluntarily donate to the Heartsaver AED Fund to help save lives."

Currently, the Heartsaver AED Fund has more than $100,000. Quinn's office was instrumental in securing this funding from the fiscal year 2007 budget, as well as through a $10,000 donation from Walgreens.

In 2004, the Lt. Governor's office joined with the Illinois General Assembly to pass the landmark Colleen O'Sullivan Law requiring defibrillators in schools, indoor park district facilities and physical fitness facilities. Colleen O'Sullivan, a staff attorney for the Illinois House of Representatives, died of heart complications in 2002 after exercising at a health club facility.

The Colleen O' Sullivan Law, sponsored by State Rep. Dan Burke and Senators Martin Sandoval and Maggie Crotty, includes a provision requiring public schools, colleges, and park districts to install AEDs in all physical fitness facilities over the next three years.

At Quinn's urging, the General Assembly also enacted the Heartsaver AED Fund which was signed into law by Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Valentine's Day, 2005.

For more information about the Heartsaver AED Fund, log on to www.KeepIllinoisHealthy.org. Quinn also announced that next year, Illinois taxpayers will have an additional way to donate to the Heartsaver AED Fund via a check-off box on the Illinois Income Tax form.