uJULIE, Inc. (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators), also known as the “Illinois One-Call System,” is a not-for-profit organization that provides professional and non-professional (i.e. homeowners) excavators with a free service through a single toll-free phone number (1-800-892-0123) to call for the locating and marking of underground utility facilities.  JULIE, Inc. has 1,700 members.

uJULIE is not a utility.  JULIE neither owns nor marks any underground facilities.  JULIE serves as a message handling service for utilities, taking information about planned excavations and distributing this information to its utility membership.  It is then the responsibility of each member to mark the location of their underground facilities at the excavation site.

uSince 1974, JULIE has logged over 16.6 million calls and its annual call volume makes it one of the largest industry one-call systems in the United States.  Annual call volume has grown from 680,000 in 1994 to a record 1.225 million in 2005.  Because one call to JULIE can result in communication with multiple members, calls in 2005 resulted in over 7.9 million notification messages being transmitted to members.  Member utilities fully support JULIE based upon their message volume. 

uExcavators are required to notify JULIE at least two working days (excluding weekends and holidays) in advance of the start of their project.  The call to and service provided by JULIE members are free to the excavator. 

uJULIE was formed by the owners and operators of underground utility facilities as a means of reducing damage to those facilities.  JULIE began operations in 1974 in Will County and expanded its coverage to include all of Illinois as of Dec. 1, 1980, except for the city of Chicago, which is served by the Chicago Utility Alert Network (312) 744-7000.

uIn 1976, the JULIE System was accepted by the Illinois Commerce Commission as compliance with the one-call notification section of General Order 185. 

uThe Illinois General Assembly enacted the Illinois Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act on January 1, 1991.  Changes to the Act became effective in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.  The law requires persons excavating to contact the Illinois One-Call System before digging and requires owners of underground utilities to be members of the one-call system.

uJULIE has approximately 100 employees (during peak seasons) and a state-of-the-art facility located in Joliet, Illinois. 

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