Governor Quinn Administration Announces Investment in Illinois Valley 911 Dispatch Center

PERU - The Governor Quinn Administration today announced an investment for a 911 regional dispatch center to improve public safety and emergency response in the Illinois Valley region. The facility will centralize emergency calls and dispatch services for police, fire and EMS agencies in LaSalle, Peru and Oglesby. Today's announcement is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to improve public safety in every community across Illinois.

"A quick response is critical from our emergency services across Illinois where just a few minutes can make the difference between life and death," Governor Quinn said. "A central response center will make emergency dispatch services more efficient and protect the health and safety of Illinois Valley communities."

The $1.5 million investment, funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), will be used to build the Illinois Valley 911 regional dispatch center. LaSalle, Peru and Oglesby currently operate local 911 dispatch centers, which will be consolidated into a single regional public safety center. The new dispatch center, located in Oglesby, will provide dispatch services to regional police, fire and EMS agencies. The centralization is intended to improve 911-dispatch services, emergency response times, public safety and the cost-effectiveness of services.

"As a 33-year public safety administrator and on behalf of everyone in public safety, I would like to say how appreciative we are of Governor Quinn and his support for this project," Peru Chief of Police Douglas Bernabei said. "His efforts are going to make the people of the Illinois Valley that much safer."

"With this investment from Governor Quinn we will be able to enhance the public safety for LaSalle, Peru and Oglesby while creating efficiencies and technology enhancement that will benefit all of our citizens," State Representative Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) said.

Governor Quinn is committed to protecting public safety by improving emergency response capacity in Illinois communities. This fall, Governor Quinn announced a $4.5 million state investment in the development of an Emergency and Critical Response Center at the Southern Illinois Airport in Carbondale. The center will consolidate the region's emergency medical and disaster response resources in one location, and its development at the airport will accommodate all types of civilian and military emergency response efforts.

This summer, Governor Quinn signed legislation to improve emergency response services in rural areas throughout the state. The law allows ambulance providers in rural areas to be upgraded to the highest EMT license of any person staffing that ambulance, including registered nurses. This will allow more kinds of life-saving procedures to be performed when an ambulance responds to an emergency.