ISP at Du Quoin Will Be Call Center for Four So.Ill. Districts
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Illinois State Police District 13 command at Du Quoin would be the communications call center for three other Southern Illinois state police districts under a plan to consolidate 20 radio rooms into four.
The first phase of the cost-cutting proposal calls for Effingham's District 12, Carmi's District 19, and Ullin's District 22 centers to be consolidated into the radio room in Du Quoin District 13.
The commands in Du Quoin, Springfield, Sterling and Chicago have the newest radio room facilities within the state police system, another dividend of keeping District 13 in Du Quoin at the time the decision was made to invest the $3 million in the new headquarters.
Moving the district closer to I-57 had once been considered, but local lawmakers lobbied to keep the command here because of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds and the fact that nearby Rt. 51 and Rt. 13/127 are also major highways.
Du Quoin, along with three other centers in Chicago, Springfield and Sterling, represent the newest centers within the department, state police officials said.
State Police say they are certain the four radio rooms are capable of handling call traffic from neighboring districts. The agency says the call center in Du Quoin takes an average of seven calls per hour, a total of 179 calls each day.
"ISP Communications Centers are separate from local police agencies, and there will be no impact to local agencies' 911 emergency operations," according to a statement from ISP.
Officials contend telecommunicators will have access to all necessary information to respond to situations, regardless of their locations and that motorist and resident safety will not be compromised in the move. No date has been given for the proposed transition.