DuPage County launches text-to-911, honors 50 years of DuPage Public Safety Communications

DuPage County on April 8 announced that residents and visitors may now send text messages to 911 and used the County Board meeting to recognize DuPage Public Safety Communications (DuCom) for 50 years of service.

The move expands options for people who cannot make voice calls, county officials said. "This new option allows residents to send text messages directly to 911 when calling is not possible," said Deborah A. Conroy, chair of the DuPage County Board. The board also adopted a proclamation recognizing National Public Safety Telecommunications Week April 13–19.

Why it matters: Text-to-911 provides an alternative way to summon help for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, for victims of domestic violence who cannot speak aloud, or for others who cannot safely place a voice call. At the meeting, a County official said the county had already accepted limited test traffic and described a case in which a 7-year-old used text-to-911 to report an ongoing domestic-violence situation that led to a timely law-enforcement response. The county did not provide the caller's name or further identifying details.

The board highlighted local public-safety infrastructure: DuPage County has three public safety answering points (PSAPs)—Addison Consolidated Dispatch Center (ACDC), DuPage Public Safety Communications (DuCom), and the Village of Naperville PSAP—that together serve portions of DuPage and adjacent counties. The proclamation notes the county's enhanced 911 system serves more than 927,263 residents in parts of DuPage, Cook, Kane and Will counties.

Several board members praised telecommunicators' work. Vice Chair Michael Childress, a retired firefighter and paramedic, told telecommunicators, "If I ever need to dial 911, some of the best telecommunicators ... are going to answer the phone," and thanked them for learning the new text-to-911 protocols. County Board member Laura DeSart described a personal emergency and the value of nonverbal contact: "Four years ago this week, I couldn't breathe ... I called 911 and hung up. I couldn't talk ... one of you stayed with me," she said, adding that text-to-911 is "a game changer" for people who cannot speak during emergencies.

DuCom's 50th anniversary: The Board also presented a proclamation honoring DuCom's 50 years as a consolidated dispatch center. The proclamation says DuCom was formed in 1975 and now dispatches for 45 member agencies, processes about 1,000,000 phone calls annually and dispatches roughly 700,000 incidents a year. Former Mayor David Brummell and other local officials praised DuCom staff for steady, behind-the-scenes work that supports first responders.

What the county said about rollout and training: County speakers emphasized that telecommunicators trained for text workflows before public launch. Officials said the county had accepted limited carrier traffic during a short testing period before the broader announcement.

What wasn't stated: The board did not provide technical carrier-level rollout dates for every municipality, detailed logs of test incidents, or patient-identifying information about the example text-to-911 case beyond the brief description given. The proclamation and remarks described DuCom activity levels in round numbers.

Ending note: County officials encouraged residents to "call if you can, text if you can't," and to reserve text-to-911 for true emergencies, consistent with guidance at the national level for text-to-911 use.