Glen Ellyn unveils reverse 911 system

Glen Ellyn residents might be more prepared for a natural disaster or other emergency thanks to a new reverse 911 system.

The village unveiled its emergency notification system this week and residents can start signing up online.

In light of the tornado that tore through downstate Washington two weeks ago, village officials believe the system could provide critical assistance to residents.

“This will allow us to get instant messaging in a number of different ways out to residents of the community,” police Chief Phil Norton said. “In the event we were to have some sort of a disaster like Washington had, we believe something like this could really save lives.”

Norton said village officials have explored similar systems for a number of years. The village board gave its approval in August for the service that will cost the village about $12,000 annually.

The system also could have proved useful in early November when a disabled freight train blocked railway crossings in the village for four hours during the morning commute.

“In an emergency we feel this is money well spent,” Norton said. “One thing we learned with storm damage is people want information, even if it is not good news, so they can plan accordingly.”

A safety feature will provide school officials with a panic button type system that, when pushed, will immediately notify police of a violent emergency such as a shooting. Norton said it will be up to schools to sign up, but administrators he’s talked to seem excited and he’d like to see them installed this school year.

“It will automatically dispatch us to the school before they even call 911,” Norton said.

The village has imported all published landline phone numbers into the system, which will be used to reverse dial residents during emergencies. Residents can sign up as many phone numbers and email addresses as they’d like and can receive notifications by way of their cellphone, tablet, home computer or laptop.

Norton said the system will only be used in emergencies and not for routine bulletins. Weather alerts through DuPage County are automatic, but only on the warning level.

“It really is for the ultimate emergency. We want to be careful not to overuse this system,” Norton said. “If these things start beeping and people’s inboxes start getting full, they’ll start to opt out of the system and we don’t want that.”

A link for the signup page will be posted on the village’s website soon. In the meantime it can be assessed by going to https://glenellyn.smartmsg.com.