Daily Herald opinion: A testament to ‘vision’: Emergency operation first studied 12 years ago ready to get to work

We tend to appreciate “visionary” ideas in government only after they have come to pass. In those uncertain early days, it is natural to be skeptical and reluctant when some thoughtful advocate proposes an expensive and complex project that won’t be completed until long after the officials approving it have retired or moved onto other things.

But when a valuable endeavor actually makes it to completion, we can suddenly acknowledge the leaders who embarked with faith and courage on a promising idea.

It’s that spirit that comes to mind as we got a first public glimpse last week of a new $53.8 million facility in Lake County that will enable better and more cost-effective emergency services across multiple jurisdictions. The first study for a Regional Operations and Communications Facility was approved in Lake County a dozen years ago. Last Friday, officials provided a behind-the-scenes look at the nearly completed project — commonly called “The ROC” — in Libertyville, and it is a testament to planning, determination and cooperation.

Essentially, the operation houses LakeComm, a new consolidated 911 system created in June 2024 to enable its 25 members representing 30 police and fire agencies to provide faster, more coordinated responses to emergencies. Two components of the system — the Lake County Emergency Management Agency and its Emergency Operations Center — are already functional. A third — the Joint Emergency Telephone System Board of Lake County, which will oversee the overall 911 emergency call center — will be online when the facility is fully operational later this summer.

As our Mick Zawislak described the operation for a story on Monday, the overall system will use computer software to allow local law enforcement, fire and rescue personnel agencies to consolidate numerous functions into a single package. The EMA will seat up to 52 personnel who will coordinate activities as “critical partners” in disasters, including working with ham radio operators who will be pivotal in the event of a widespread communications failure. The space can also be used for training county workers and local communities to prepare for storms, disasters and countywide emergencies.

And all of this work will be take place in a 37,426-square-foot structure featuring state-of-the-art equipment and construction. Key features designed to provide a constructive work atmosphere include natural light throughout the building, an expansive work area, sound-absorbing ceiling fabric and individually adjustable radiant heating and cooling systems. The building itself uses solar and geothermal power sources to produce more energy than it consumes, and a storm shelter system features windows that can deflect a two-by-four traveling 140 mph and withstand an F-2 tornado.

It all certainly qualifies as “visionary,” perhaps more so now than even when the idea was first conceived.

Said Lake County board member J. Kevin Hunter, a retired firefighter/EMT representing the Fox Lake and Lake Villa area and chair of the joint telephone operation: “I’ve been doing this since 1996. To see solutions and to see it in my lifetime is huge.”