Will County Residents Will Soon Be Able to Text 911

By next spring, Will County residents will be able to text their emergencies to 911.

Will County will be the second in the state to allow residents to “call” 911 without saying a word, the Southtown Star reported.

The added service is good news for deaf and hearing-impaired residents, Will County emergency telephone system public education coordinator Caryn DeMarco told the paper. She added that while there have been no such incidents in Will County, nationally, there have been incidents in which victims who were being abducted or held hostage could not call 911 out of fear of being heard.

The service will be rolled out gradually, first to hearing-impaired residents, then to schools, college campuses and the general public.

Only callers served by the four major carriers — AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile — will be able to text emergency dispatchers, according to the Southtown Star.

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