History of the Statewide 9-1-1 Division

In March 2019, a new Division was created within the Department which encompasses the Deputy Director’s Office, the Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator, the Statewide 9-1-1 Bureau, the Radio Network Services Bureau, the Telecommunications Services Bureau and the Fleet Management Bureau. This new Division – The Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator - allows all Department work units involved in the delivery of emergency communication services throughout the state to be centrally coordinated and supervised.

Our telecommunicators provide services to the ten Illinois State Police Troops statewide from communications centers located in Des Plaines, Sterling, Pontiac, Springfield, DuQuoin and Collinsville. Our telecommunicators also handle communications for multiple other state agencies, and are available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. The Department’s diverse fleet of vehicles is procured and distributed by staff in the Fleet Services Bureau, who also handle administrative tasks with regards to all Department vehicle crashes. The technical experts in the Radio Network Service Bureau install, maintain, and repair emergency equipment in the Department’s fleet, as well as maintain, monitor and upgrade the Department’s STARCOM infrastructure in collaboration with the state’s vendor, Motorola.

Although telecommunication services, fleet and radio network services have long been a part of the fabric of the Illinois State Police, the Department’s statewide 9-1-1 responsibilities are relatively new. In July 2015, the Emergency Telephone Systems Act (ETSA) went through a total rewrite which combined ETSA, the Wireless Emergency Telephone Systems Act and the Pre-paid Wireless Act into one piece of legislation. Public Act 99-6 created a state-controlled 9-1-1 program to be enforced by the Department by establishing the Office of Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator and the Statewide 9-1-1 Bureau within the Illinois State Police giving the Department oversight authority of 9-1-1 systems and providing administrative support to the Statewide 9-1-1 Advisory Board. The law also established a flat statewide rate for wireline and wireless surcharge, established consolidation requirements for public safety answering points, mandated the delivery of enhanced 9-1-1 (E 9-1-1) to unserved counties, and required the establishment of a statewide Next Generation 9-1-1 network to enhance the delivery of 9-1-1 service to the citizens living in and travelling through the state of Illinois.

The Division continues to enhance public safety operations within Illinois by leveraging innovative technology solutions to provide efficient statewide 9-1-1 services, wide-ranging communication capabilities, and comprehensive fleet services.