Len Wells, Evansville Courier & Press (Indiana)

Thanks to a new law signed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn this month, Hamilton County residents will take a big step toward implementing an enhanced 9-1-1 emergency telephone system. Hamilton County is one of the last counties in Illinois without such a system.

The new law allows officials there to use $370,000 in local tax revenues that had been earmarked for ambulance services to fund the establishment of a 9-1-1 system. The money has been held in a savings account since the early 1980s, according to Hamilton County State’s Attorney Justin Hood.

The new law allows the county to dip into the deposits to fund 9-1-1 mapping for the county, purchase new road signs and install integrated radio dispatch equipment.

Hood said the account won’t be drained, but needed equipment will be purchased as soon as possible.

State Rep. John Bradley was instrumental in getting legislation drafted that allows Hamilton County to draw money out of the old ambulance fund. Bradley said he was shocked when he learned Hamilton County had no emergency 9-1-1 system.

Hood added that the U.S. Postal Service in St. Louis has already been contacted to start the process of assigning 9-1-1 addresses to Hamilton County residents.

The next step to funding an Enhanced 9-1-1 system is to ask the voters of the county to add a small tax to their phone bill to pay for the development and maintenance of the system.

Hood says the measure will appear on the March 18, 2014, primary ballot.

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