An Illinois-based legal battle involving an attempt by public entities to take over fire alarm monitoring in Illinois has received national attention for its potential to influence fire monitoring in districts across the United States. While many know that, to date, the courts have sided with the alarm companies operating in Illinois, not as many may know the specific legal explanations for why the courts reached those rulings.
In September 2009, the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Prevention District, a public entity, adopted and implemented Ordinance 09-06 that mandated the use of a direct connect wireless fire alarm monitoring network. That wireless radio system was to send signals directly to the district and thus eliminate the need for central stations.