Ald. Bobby Rush`s solution to the May 13 tragedy at Illinois Center is yet another example of city officials avoiding the real causes of problems and dealing only with related symptoms. Outlawing what the alderman calls
”vanity names” for Chicago office buildings will not improve the effectiveness of 911 operators when they give critical instructions to the fire department. It will simply place another superficial Band-Aid on another life-threatening problem in our city.
Nancy Clay`s horrifying experience with 911 incompetence is just one example of something that happens every day in this city. Most people who have lived in Chicago a while have at least one tale of 911 negligence. Many of us have experienced the frustrating 911 dumping ground phenomenon, when other city departments direct nonemergency calls to 911 when they don`t want to handle them.
The real issue here is the emergency number system itself. Who are these people? How are they trained and supervised? Are we paying them well enough to attract people who can think quickly and intelligently during a crisis situation? How do we stop improper calls from being directed to 911?
These are the questions we need to be answering if we hope to avoid tragedies like this in the future.
