The system selected by the 911 board is a Motorola 800 MHz SMARTNET® analog communications system. The system includes a total of four towers located throughout the county and is designed to ensure a high degree of emergency radio communications and greatly enhance radio signal strength while allowing emergency providers to talk directly with each other. The system design has been studied for the past three years and necessitated a commitment from the villages of Bourbonnais and Bradley, the city of Kankakee and Kankakee County to share resources to achieve this level of emergency communications.

The city of Kankakee has agreed to share the six frequencies licensed to it by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Bourbonnais will share its one licensed frequency and Bradley has agreed to share its three licensed frequencies to form the 10-channel Kankakee County Area-wide Radio Network. The city of Kankakee and Kankakee County have also agreed to share resources now used to operate two dispatch centers to form a new single-site dispatch center for the county of 100,000 residents.

The 911 board is continuing negotiations with the River Valley Metro Transit System to share a transfer/dispatch center. The 911 board will oversee the dispatch center housing the city and county equipment which will be deeded over to the 911 board. The 911 board also will manage the employees currently employed by the city and county in the new dispatch center.

The new system will serve 17 fire agencies, 14 municipal police agencies, three ambulance agencies and the Sheriff's Department, in addition to the offices of the county coroner, probation, animal control, Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, river patrol and the auxiliary police. The Sheriff's Department currently provides dispatch services for 15 fire agencies, 11 municipal police agencies and 2 ambulance agencies in addition to the county operations.

The system will employ a technologically advanced "simulcast" system allowing it to transmit each message from all four tower sites at the same time, virtually eliminating "echo" signals. The individual system sites are connected by a microwave system. The resulting three dispatch centers (Bourbonnais, Bradley and the new Kankakee site) will be equipped with new Motorola CENTRACOM Gold Series™ Elite control consoles. Approximately 380 Motorola MTS 2000™ portable radios and 230 MCS 2000® mobile radios will be included in the system.

"This new system is the result of an outstanding joint effort by many police, fire and emergency medical service agencies as well as mayors, fire district trustees and village boards who were focused on a common goal," said 911 Board Chairman Jim LaMotte. "The county will have the communications capability it needs to serve the county's public safety needs."

The total cost of the system is $3,772,409 and will be paid for with a $1 per month surcharge, paid by county residents on their telephone bills. The 911 Board will borrow about $2.5 million, with the balance being paid with money on hand and with grant money received in October from Illinois Gov. George H. Ryan from the Illinois FIRST program.

"Kankakee County Sheriff Tim Bukowski worked tirelessly on the grant request and really did so independent of the 911 board. He negotiated with the governor's office while working to obtain assistance for the jail project. Without the $1 million grant I doubt we could have reached this milestone. We owe the governor and sheriff our thanks," said LaMotte.

"Governor Ryan was acutely aware of the emergency communication problems encountered by police, fire and rescue personnel at the City of New Orleans Amtrak train accident in March of 1999. Governor Ryan was very receptive to our appeal for assistance in this project and the $1 million ensures that this system will be completed and that every agency in the county will be part of the network," said Sheriff Bukowski.

According to Sheriff Bukowski, the new communications system will greatly improve police and fire communications in the outlying areas of Kankakee County. The new system virtually eliminates "dead areas" where police and fire personnel were unable to communicate with the county dispatch center.

Installation of the new Kankakee County Area-wide Radio Network is expected to begin in April and the targeted completion for the project is September or October.

"Motorola is very happy to be part of the team effort that resulted in this sophisticated solution for Kankakee County's present and future communications needs," said Bill Ridenour, vice president of sales for Motorola's North America Group. "This technology is designed to help Kankakee County enhance its communications between agencies and be an essential part of those agencies' efforts to serve county residents today and for years to come."

About Motorola

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 1999 were $33.1 billion. For more information, please visit the Motorola web site at http://www.motorola.com .

SMARTNET and MCS 2000 are registered trademarks of Motorola Inc. MTS 2000 and CENTRACOM Gold Series are trademarks of Motorola Inc. SOURCE Motorola, Inc.

CONTACT: Sheriff Tim Bukowski, Kankakee County Sheriff's Office, 815-937-8250; Steve Gorecki, Motorola Public Relations, 847-538-0368, or steve.gorecki@motorola.com/