Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Since 2013, Lake County has been exploring the possibility of consolidating more than a dozen independent public safety answering points (PSAPs) through the Lake County Emergency Telephone System Board. The goal is to improve the efficiency and reliability of 911 services across the county.
In 2015, new legislation pushed for the consolidation of smaller systems, and a task force study revealed that there were 19 dispatch centers operating with 280 full-time equivalent staff at an annual cost of $33 million. Equipment maintenance alone added another $17 million each year. According to the report, consolidating all systems into one could save between $2.3 million and $10.4 million annually.
In the spring of 2018, 21 public safety entities in Lake County signed an intergovernmental agreement to participate in the 911 Consolidation Implementation Planning Project. This fall, they agreed on three tiers for further planning. The first tier focuses on technology, allowing a single entity to adopt standardized systems while remaining independent. The second tier introduces uniform policies and procedures through formal agreements. The third involves full consolidation, merging all dispatch centers under one unified agency.
Eventually, the county plans to sell its main dispatch center in Libertyville, built in 1948, along with the old Winchester House property on Milwaukee Avenue. This move could allow for a new centralized location or collaboration with other agencies to cover a broader area, reducing administrative costs and improving operational efficiencies. Currently, nine different systems are used across the 14 dispatch centers serving Lake County.
One of the key players, the FoxComm E911 Communication Center, recently invested in new equipment. It handles police and fire calls for Fox Lake, Grayslake, and Lake Villa, as well as police calls for Park City. Like the county, Park City manages its own police dispatch but routes fire calls to the appropriate local agency.
Interestingly, Cook, Lake, and DuPage counties—along with parts of Will County—are among the few in Illinois that still don’t have a single, centralized 911 dispatch system. This lack of integration has raised concerns about response times, service quality, and long-term sustainability.
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