About DU-COMM

DU-COMM is a unit of local government formed under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act (5 ILCS 220) by its member municipalities and Fire districts. DU-COMM is a 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) responsible for radio communications and dispatch of police, fire, and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) for forty-four (44) member agencies. DU-COMM’s annual budget is approximately 20.5 million dollars. DU-COMM employs approximately one-hundred-fourteen (114) full-time employees and five (5) part-time employees. DU-COMM has a Board of Directors comprised of officials from member agencies; an Executive Committee comprised of Board of Directors members and Police and Fire Chiefs; and Operations Committees consisting of public safety personnel from member agencies.

On October 1st, 1972, Hillside Police Officer Anthony Raymond was kidnapped and murdered by a group who had just committed an armed robbery. The officer, who was unaware of the robbery, stopped their vehicle for a routine traffic violation. He radioed the traffic stop to his dispatcher but, because of channel congestion, was never heard. Local, state and federal government agencies then worked together to create smaller radio networks. DU-COMM was then formed in 1975 as an intergovernmental agency as defined in the Illinois statute (5 ILCS 220/1) to provide centralized communications for the northeast and northwest quadrants of DuPage County. Today, DU-COMM processes 1 million phone calls annually and dispatches 700,000 incidents. Municipalities and fire districts have worked together to provide a high level of service to their citizens in public safety matters.