Repair crews are headed to a location along Illinois Route 17 in Kankakee County where a fiber-optic was cut, eliminating phone service for much of Iroquois County.

The problem started about 12:30 am today (Monday). AT&T reported a cut line, what was believed to between Watseka and St. Anne. The problem area was actually located on Route 17 and work crews are now on the job.

Iroquois County 9-1-1 Coordinator Nita Dubble reported fire departments have been manning back-up telephone lines for emergencies.

AT&T and Verizon cell phone were affected. The Verizon service has since been re-stored.

Landline service with AT&T and Frontier was not working. But Dubble said those customers who dial 9-1-1 will get thru to local fire departments or you'll reach Kankakee County, KANCOM.

So 9-1-1 service was operational, despite.

Nita Dubble told WGFA listeners (this morning) those emergency calls are being answered.

"Fire departments are manning back-up call-boxes and relaying info from callers to 9-1-1," Dubble said.

94.1 WGFA