Forest Park, Oak Park and River Forest are now a part of a statewide effort to have mental health professionals respond to certain 911 calls, instead of local police.
In 2021, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Community Emergency Services and Supports Act into law. The law requires mental health referrals instead of police response in some situations. Since the law passed, the Illinois Department of Human Services has been working with the Illinois State Police, EMS administrators under the purview of the Illinois Department of Public Health, plus state and regional advisory committees to fully implement the law by July 1, 2027.
Late last year, the first cohort of about 20 out of 175 dispatch centers in Illinois started training, including the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center, which connects 911 callers in Forest Park, Oak Park and River Forest to emergency resources…