Oak Lawn mayor announces grant to upgrade regional 911 center

Mayor Terry Warderer announced a grant to upgrade the Oak Lawn Regional Communications 911 center, saying the funds will pay for new radio consoles, an updated 911 phone and recording system and modernized workstation consoles to improve emergency response across the region.

"I'm mayor Terry Warderer, and I'm thrilled to announce a significant development that will enhance our emergency services," Warderer said, introducing the grant-funded project. He described the 911 center as a regional dispatch hub that coordinates responses for 14 local police and fire departments and serves about 150,000 residents.

Warderer said the center "answered almost a quarter of 1000000 calls last year," a phrase that appears in the transcript without a clear numeric total. He said the grant "will fund essential upgrades to our 9 1 1 center, including improvements to the integrated radio console, the 911 phone and recording system, and the modernization of our workstation command councils." The transcript uses the phrase "command councils"; officials commonly refer to "command consoles" or "workstations" for dispatch centers, but the mayor did not clarify the precise equipment terminology during these remarks.

Warderer framed the work as a resilience and safety measure: "They empower our dedicated 9 1 1 dispatchers to serve the wider community better, ensuring the safety of every resident and every community the center provides services for." He also thanked a federal or state lawmaker for helping secure support, saying, "Again, thank you, representative Sean Casten, for standing with Oak Lawn." The transcript includes two spellings of the representative's name (SEG 030: "Sean Kasten"; SEG 038: "Sean Casten"); the mayor did not speak for the representative during this remark.

The mayor did not specify the grant amount, a project timeline, or a vendor for the equipment in the transcript. There was no vote or formal council action recorded in these remarks. Warderer said the upgrades would make dispatchers more effective but did not provide implementation dates or a detailed funding breakdown.

Mayor Warderer closed by expressing gratitude to residents and optimism about the upgrades' impact. No further procedural steps or public hearings were announced in the transcript.