State Officials Attend Grand Opening of Safety Center to Serve St. Clair County
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker cut the ribbon, officially opening the new Public Safety Center. From left, Illinois Department of Transportation Deputy Director of Transit Shoun Reese, Illinois State Representatives Katie Stuart and Jay Hoffman, St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern, St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Bi-State Development Agency President Taulby Roach, St. Clair County Transit District Managing Director Ken Sharkey (who also serves as county board representative for a district that includes most of Fairview Heights), former State Representative LaToya Greenwood and Illinois State Senator Christopher Belt.
By Zachary Daum
A new $15 million Public Safety Building, which will also serve as St. Clair County’s CENCOM West 90101 Emergency Dispatch Center held its grand opening on Thursday, July 11. This state-of-the-art, two-story, 16,000 square-foot facility aims to enhance communications and security collaboration among various public safety partners, including Metro Transit, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, Metro Transit Public Safety, and the Bureau of Transit Police. It also aims to better serve riders in St. Clair County and the entire MetroLink system.
The event featured formal remarks from elected officials and project representatives, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of the new facility. Attendees also enjoyed musical performances by local youth from Jason Brown’s Art and Talent Development Band.
Jason Brown’s Art and Talent Development Band
Notable attendees included Illinois State Senator Christopher Belt, Assistant Majority Leader and Illinois State Representative Jay Hoffman, Illinois Department of Transportation Deputy Director of Transit Shoun Reese, St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern, and St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons. Also present were representatives from the St. Clair County Transit District, Bi-State Development, FGM Architects, Poettker Construction, and several other project partners and stakeholders.
The new facility houses the St. Clair County CENCOM West 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch Center, office space for St. Clair County MetroLink Sheriff’s Deputies. It will soon become the second location for the MetroLink Operations Control Center. The project, which was completed in April 2024, received significant funding from a $9,975,000 Rebuild Illinois grant awarded by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, with additional funding from the St. Clair County Transit District and Bi-State Development.
Governor J.B. Pritzker gives a speech on the development of the safety center, thanking those individuals responsible for the construction of the center, as well as speaking on the continued
development of East St. Louis.
Governor Pritzker spoke on the importance of the project, emphasizing the importance of the Rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan. “For years, there’s been neglect of investments in our roads, our bridges, our transit, our airports, our waterways and when it’s holding back our economic potential, making our communities less connected and threatening the safety and the productivity of our residents. So we all worked together to set out to change that, proposing a historic level of investment through the rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan. The members of the General Assembly that you sent to represent you helped decide that we needed to make investments right here in this region of the state of Illinois. It is at the center of everything in the nation and it is an opportunity for us to restart our economic engine and solidify our status as a multimodal hub for the flow of people and commerce, not just in the state of Illinois, but throughout the nation.
“We made it clear that this wasn’t just a plan to rectify the shortcomings of the past. It was to build a spectacular future for the people of Illinois. Standing here at this incredible facility, I can tell you that this is exactly what we had in mind, and we’re doing it all across the state, but nearly $10 million from the rebuild Illinois capital plan was invested here in this state of the art building, which will not only further connect St Clair County residents to the rest of the state, but it will serve as an administrative hub for agency coordination for public safety housing the St Clair County CENCOM West, 9-1-1, emergency Center, office space for St. Clair County’s Metrolink sheriff’s deputies and Metro Transit Operational Control Center and it will make good on our commitment to public safety and reliability across the transit system, because Illinois riders deserve nothing less. Thanks to this facility, thousands will commute to work and to school.”
Shoun Reese, Deputy Director of Transit for the Illinois Department of Transportation, shared personal anecdotes about the significance of public transit in her life and its role in providing opportunities for the community. “For me, I have such fond memories of coming home, as we used to say, to visit family, or as a little girl going downtown to buy Easter outfits that had to include the socks and the hair bows. So to stand here now to participate in a ribbon cutting for this great facility. It’s surreal.
Deputy Director of Transit Shoun Reese spoke on the unity it took to come together to develop the center.
“(Public Transit) is the heartbeat of communities. It is a lifeline, and it is a pathway out of poverty. For years, there’s been neglect of investments in our roads, our bridges, our transit, our airports, our waterways and when it’s holding back our economic potential, making our communities less connected and threatening the safety and the productivity of our residents. So we all work together to set out to change that, proposing a historic level of investment through the rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan. The members of the General Assembly that you sent to represent you helped decide long ago that we needed to make investments right here in this region of the state of Illinois.” Reese said.
Director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Herb Simmons spoke on how proud he was to see the plan to completion, speaking on how much help he received from all those present at the grand opening.
Herb Simmons, Director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, highlighted the collaborative efforts that brought the project to fruition. “This was a vision that came about late one night when the Chairman and I were talking about a new public safety building… With the help of the chairman, with the great help of our great governor, this building is here today for this opening. I just want to thank each and every one of you for coming out today, helping us celebrate.” Simmons remarked.
The construction of the Public Safety Building was made possible by the dedicated efforts of union trades in Southwestern Illinois. Special acknowledgements were given to Eric Holler and Totsie Bailey, leaders of the Southwestern Illinois Building Trades and partner construction trade unions. Senator Christopher Belt and other officials praised the unions for their professional work and timely completion of the project.
The new Public Safety Building at the Emerson Park Transit Center is expected to serve as a model for future infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing public safety and improving transit services.
