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ILLINOIS ONE-CALL SYSTEM RECEIVES RECORD NUMBER OF UNDERGROUND UTILITY LOCATE REQUESTS |
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JULIE, Inc.’s Membership Increases Significantly |
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 4, 2004 |
CONTACT: Kevin T. Chmura |
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STATE OF ILLINOIS – Representatives of the Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators (JULIE, Inc.) announced today that the Illinois One-Call System received and processed a record 1,147,276 underground utility locate requests from professional and non-professional excavators in 2003. In addition, 260 new members joined the not-for-profit organization, increasing total membership to 1,744. Compared to the previous year, these totals represent significant increases of 7.3 percent and 17 percent, respectively. “In 2003, representatives of JULIE, Inc. and its members expanded a successful public safety campaign to build awareness and educate excavators about the importance of safe-digging practices in Illinois,” said Mark Frost, executive director of JULIE, Inc. “There is no reason to take chances when planning an outdoor project. Safe digging begins with a call to a helpful JULIE operator at 800-892-0123.” The following is a list of the top 20 counties in Illinois for locate requests from excavators in 2003: Cook; Will; DuPage; Lake; Kane; McHenry; St. Clair; Madison; Winnebago; Sangamon; McLean; Champaign; Peoria; Kendall; Tazewell; DeKalb; Kankakee; LaSalle; Rock Island; and Macon. “The record number of underground utility locate requests and significant increase in membership are both strong indications that our ongoing campaign has been effective,” Frost continued. “We will continue to focus on safety-related issues and expand outreach of our education campaign through a variety of proactive methods.” JULIE, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation that provides professional and non-professional (i.e. homeowners) excavators with a toll-free number (1-800-892-0123) for the free locating and marking of underground facilities. JULIE serves as a message handling, notification service for underground facility owners, taking information about planned excavations and distributing this information to its membership. It is then the responsibility of each facility owner to mark the location of their underground facilities at the excavation site. JULIE neither owns nor marks any underground facilities. Established in 1974, JULIE currently represents 1,744 underground facility owners and operators in Illinois. For more information about JULIE, along with a complete list of utility members and safe-digging guidelines, please visit www.illinois1call.com.
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