Forest Park has long been part of the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center, the entity that dispatches police and fire calls that come into Forest Park, Oak Park and River Forest. Now our dispatch center is one of 20 in Illinois that is part of the first cohort being trained by the state in how to divert a portion of those calls from police and fire to mental health professionals.
This is a welcome initiative, which will offer better and more appropriate service to those in trouble, but who don’t need an ambulance or an armed officer to respond. The training will help dispatchers discern when it is best to transfer an incoming call to the national 988 mental health hotline. There professionals work to de-escalate situations while providing services.
Oak Park is ahead of the game here with its initiative in creating a locally staffed policing alternative it calls ECHO. The village has hired staff to respond to individuals and is also contracted with Oak Park-based Thrive Counseling, which can physically respond to calls 24 hours a day.
Clearly, that is a model every community needs to move toward. It will take funding beyond Forest Park’s ability to make that happen. Meanwhile, a dispatch center trained in differentiating between the varied needs of its callers is a strong next step.
Ford beats dark money
We’ve long respected the hard work and active visibility of State Rep. La Shawn Ford. Over nearly 20 years in the state legislature, Ford has been a strong representative of the West Side and suburbs, including Oak Park and River Forest.
So his winning the Democratic primary to replace Cong. Danny Davis, coming first among a dozen rivals, is fine with us.
The most encouraging aspect of his victory was overcoming the millions in dark money that was spent to either defeat him or to boost Melissa Conyears-Ervin, his top rival. Between AIPAC backing Conyears-Ervin and the crypto lobby working to take down Ford with its despicable attacks on his character, this outside PAC money swamped the race.
But it did not win the race. And that is its own victory.
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