Excerpts from lincolnwoodil.org:

E9-1-1 DISPATCH CONSOLIDATION

For over 50 years the village has operated its own E9-1-1 dispatch center for emergency calls within the village’s corporate limits. Since 2002, fire and ambulance calls are handled by the Regional Emergency Dispatch (RED) Center, which services 15 municipalities. In 2015, the Illinois Legislature approved a law requiring that any Illinois municipality with a population less than 25,000 (Lincolnwood’s population is 12,500) which currently operates its own emergency dispatch center, must consolidate its these services or lose its Emergency 9-1-1 revenue. Last year Lincolnwood received almost $200,000 in 9-1-1 surcharge revenue.

The village completed a comprehensive review of options for consolidating dispatch services. This review included joining other existing dispatch consortiums or contracting with another municipality. After a thorough review, the village decided to contract with the Village of Skokie based on cost, quality of services provided, and the level of cooperation that already exists between the two communities.

Effective March 1, 2017, Skokie will begin providing E9-1-1 services to Lincolnwood residents and businesses. After March 1 when you call 9-1-1, the call will be answered at the Skokie Police Station. They will then dispatch the appropriate Lincolnwood police and/or fire personnel. There will be absolutely no delay in response time or any degradation of service from that which previously existed. Since Lincolnwood will no longer operate a dispatch center, there will no longer be personnel on-duty to receive the public at the police station after normal business hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

thanks Ron

Tags: consolidated dispatch law, consolidation of emergency dispatching, Lincolnwood Fire Department, Lincolnwood to contract E9-1-1 dispatching from Skokie, Regional Emergency Dispatch (RED) Center