Sycamore tests disaster sirens weekly. That could be changing

SYCAMORE – Illinois state law requires municipalities to test disaster warning devices on the first Tuesday of every month, but one Sycamore woman said she hears sirens every week.

Kiersten Kruse, a seven-year Sycamore resident, came to Monday’s Sycamore City Council meeting to ask why the city tests the sirens weekly and if that’s something that can be changed.

Kruse said she’s always been perplexed by hearing the tests on a weekly basis, particularly through the winter months, and said she was emboldened to speak publicly after calling the city with her concerns.

“The sirens get tested every Tuesday all year long for apparently the last 47 years and probably won’t be changed by one complaint, as one representative told me as I was speaking on the phone with the city,” Kruse said.

Outdoor warning sirens only can be tested at 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday of every month, according to state law, and only can be tested outside those times for exercises that are specifically and expressly approved ahead of time by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

City officials did not publicly speak about Kruse’s complaints – as is customary for government meetings – but Sycamore Fire Chief Bart Gilmore confirmed Wednesday that the city does, in fact, test the disaster warning devices once a week.

“Yes, we test weekly,” Gilmore said. “[We’re] looking at changing to monthly test.”

During her public comments, Kruse questioned whether the city has the proper approval for the weekly tests.

“You are able to do more exercises, but you have to have prior authorization and approval through the right channels,” Kruse said. “So I’m asking today, do we have that? Have we taken the means to get that approval every single week prior to authorizing that siren?

“And if we don’t have that approval, I ask that we move to a monthly testing of our sirens. That seems reasonable.”