CivicReady replaces CodeRed — residents must re-sign up for alerts
LANSING, Ill. (May 20, 2023) – The Village of Lansing has switched the system by which it will keep Lansing residents informed about emergencies, weather alerts, community events, and other information.
Since implementing an alert system called CodeRED in 2014, Lansing has used kept the community informed about ongoing safety situations such as police activity, road closures, extreme weather, and missing individuals. In more recent years, the system has also been used to send Village-related information, including information about Fox Pointe events.
In switching to a new system called CivicReady, the Village hopes to offer residents a more targeted and user-friendly experience.
What will CivicReady do?
After signing up online or downloading the CivicReady app, Lansing residents will be alerted by email, phone, and/or text about emergencies going on in the Village. They can also choose to sign up for “general village notifications,” as well as Fox Pointe events.
For example, the Village sent out a CivicReady notification on Wednesday, May 17 regarding May 19’s Cop on a Rooftop event.
Lansing Police Department Deputy Chief Steve Roberts said a benefit of the new system is messages that are more targeted.
“CivicReady has advanced capabilities for targeted messaging as well. The new program allows us to easily designate a geographical area to send specific messages. Code Red was able to target specific messages as well, but in a more limited capacity.”
With the new system, residents can also choose the language in which they would like to receive alerts, as well as change their preferred notification and alert settings.
Why the switch?
Roberts said a number of factors led to the switch from CodeRED to CivicReady.
“As a function of my job, I constantly re-evaluate the systems we have in place at the Police Department,” he said. “Our CodeRED contract was up for renewal this year, and I conducted a search for mass notification systems for both functionality and economic factors.”
In addition to being cheaper, CivicReady offers more features for both senders and receivers, Roberts said, and the Village’s notification list was due for a reset as outdated contacts began to pile up.
How to sign up for alerts
Residents that have been signed up for CodeRED will need to re-sign up for CivicReady.
Multiple ways to sign up are included below:
- Text “Lansing” to 38276 for text message alerts.
- Visit this website to sign up for email, voice, or text alerts.
- Download the myAlerts app on Android or iPhone.
Questions about the new alert system can be directed to the Lansing Police Department, located at 2710 170th Street, and available at 708-895-7150.
Related
- ‘Code Red’ information system keeps Lansing informed (November 23, 2017)
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