Notify Normal

Sign up to get community and emergency notifications through Notify Normal, a free mass communication system. Notify Normal allows residents and community members to be notified by the Town of Normal in the event of emergency situations and receive information about community events and Town of Normal services.

Notify Normal can target specific geographical areas or streets in the Town of Normal. The system delivers notifications via text to wireless phones and emails or calls and leaves messages, if necessary.

Stay Safe

With the Notify Normal system through Onsolve/CodeRED, automated warnings launch just moments after a bulletin has been issued by the National Weather Service for severe thunderstorms, flash floods, tornadoes and winter storms near the community.

Stay Informed

Choose the types of notices received. Any message about the safety of our residents and community will be sent using Notify Normal. Notify Normal will also be used to send messages providing updates on a variety of services provided by the Town.

Users choose the types of notices they receive. Notification types include:

Emergency - severe weather notifications, law enforcement emergencies, public safety notifications
General - general information from City Hall

When users create a Managed Account with a user name and password, they can also choose to receive these additional notification types:

Events - information about community events such as Make Music Normal, Sweet Corn Circus, Day of Play, etc.
Parks - status of aquatic centers, Parks & Recreation programming, Constitution Trail, parks, etc.
Services - status of Town of Normal services such as hydrant flushing, boil orders, garbage pickup, snow removal, etc.
Streets - parking bans, road conditions or closures, etc.

Enrollment is Easy

The Town of Normal encourages residents to enroll with a managed account* through the Notify Normal Community Notification Enrollment website. To participate, you will be asked to provide basic contact information (e.g., name, address, primary and/or secondary phone number(s) and email address, if desired).
Text to enroll by texting “NotifyNormal” to 99411. An auto-reply SMS message containing the enrollment link is provided to mobile users in the form of an URL. Once the URL is selected, you will be directed to the enrollment page to register to receive alerts.

*You may also choose to enroll as a guest without creating a user name and password. If you choose this enrollment option, you can select to receive emergency, general and/or weather-related notifications. When enrolling as a guest, you will not be offered the option to receive alert notification messages related to Events, Parks, Services or Streets. If you wish to receive these special alert notification types, text any of these keywords (Events, Parks, Services or Streets) to 99411. Doing so will enroll your guest account in the alert group related to the keyword you texted. If you wish to enroll in all four notification types, send four texts, one with each keyword listed, to 99411.

No matter how you enroll, your information remains private.

Once You’ve Enrolled

Notices can be received via text, email or phone call. You decide how you want to be notified and what you want to learn about! Users can modify notification settings and contact information at any time.

Your information will remain private.

Text messages come through a mobile device's normal texting function. You can register both home and work addresses and multiple phone numbers specific to you/your home address.

To enroll, visit the Notify Normal Community Notification Enrollment website

On the enrollment website, you can complete the appropriate information to be notified by the Town of Normal. You can also request to be put on the Do Not Call list.

Add these Notify Normal numbers to your contacts

Residents and community members will receive phone calls and text messages from the following Onsolve/CodeRed phone numbers provided to Notify Normal:

866-419-5000 for Town of Normal Emergency Alert
855-969-4636 for Town of Normal Community Alert
800-566-9780 for Town of Normal Weather Alert

The Town of Normal encourages users to add these phone numbers into their mobile device contacts so the origin of the call can be easily recognized. Users who miss the call or who wish to listen to a notification message again can simply dial the number and the message will be repeated.

For more information, email Cathy Oloffson or call 309-433-9905.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Notify Normal and why is it important to me?

Notify Normal is a free mass communication system that allows residents and community members to be notified by the Town of Normal in the event of emergency situations and receive information about community events and Town of Normal services.

When will Notify Normal be used?

Any message about the safety of our residents and community will be sent using Notify Normal. Notify Normal will also be used to send messages beyond safety messages to include updates on a variety of services provided by the Town. Users choose the type of notices they wish to receive and how they wish to receive them (telephone, cell phone, text, email, etc.).

Notification types include:

Emergency (e.g., severe weather notifications, law enforcement emergencies, public safety notifications)
General (e.g., general information from City Hall)
Events (e.g., information about community events)
Parks (e.g., status of aquatic centers, Parks & Recreation programming, Constitution Trail, parks)
Service (e.g., status of Town of Normal services such as hydrant flushing, boil orders, garbage pickup, snow removal, etc.)
Streets (e.g., parking bans, road conditions or closures)

Does Notify Normal replace other means of communicating to residents and the community?

No. Notify Normal will be used to supplement communications already being employed, in many cases pointing back to the Town website for more specific information.

Does the system already have my telephone number, or do I need to enroll?

The Notify Normal database provided by Onsolve/CodeRED contains information received from public databases, including regional phonebooks. However, no resident should assume that their information is in the system. The Town of Normal encourages residents and community members to enroll so you can choose how you want to be notified and the type of information you want to receive.

How will I recognize a Notify Normal message?

Residents and community members will receive phone calls and text messages from the following Onsolve/CodeRed phone numbers provided to Notify Normal:

866-419-5000 for Town of Normal Emergency Alert
855-969-4636 for Town of Normal Community Alert
800-566-9780 for Town of Normal Weather Alert

Is my personal information protected?

Yes. Notify Normal is provided through the Onsolve/CodeRED company, a service of Emergency Communications Network. Onsolve/CodRED takes security and privacy concerns seriously. They will not sell, trade, lease or loan any citizen-supplied data to third parties.

Can Notify Normal contact my business?

Yes. When you enroll, select “This address is business” option. Please note emergency calls can only be delivered to a direct dial number. Automated attendants will disrupt the process and calls will not be delivered. The Town of Normal encourages businesses to register their main number and establish a procedure for distributing the Notify Normal message to their workforce.

Can I register more than one phone number or email for my address?

Yes. You can register more than one phone number and/or email address for your location when you register for Notify Normal. It is highly recommended you register at least one phone number and one email address to ensure you will receive Notify Normal alerts in the event of a power outage or an incident that may occur late at night when you are generally asleep.

When I registered my managed account, I was asked to name my mobile service provider. Why?

Mobile service providers are constantly scanning for spam text messages and sometimes flag texts distributed in mass quantities. This could happen with Notify Normal messages, although this is a rare occurrence. If you don't receive a text message sent by Notify Normal, knowing your mobile provider will help CodeRED determine if the provider is part of the issue.

What should I do if I receive a Notify Normal message?

Listen carefully to the entire message. You will have the option to repeat the message by pressing any key. Do not call 911 for further information unless directed to do so or if you need immediate aid from the police or fire department. If you receive a Notify Normal email or text message, read the entire message carefully and follow all instructions.

Will the Notify Normal system leave a message?

Yes, if you choose this option, Notify Normal will leave a message on a machine or on voicemail. All information will be communicated by the Onsolve/CodeRED system in one message.

What happens if my line is busy when Notify Normal tries to call me?

If your line is busy, Notify Normal (Onsolve/CodeRED) will try two more times to connect.

Notify Normal sent a message out, and I didn’t receive it. What happened?

A couple of circumstances may contribute to this situation:

A change has been made in your contact information
Your contact information in the system is inaccurate or not current
When you enrolled, you opted out of the type of notification sent

The Town of Normal encourages you to review your enrollment selections on the Notify Normal Community Notification Enrollment website.

Is there an app for this?

Yes. The company that provides the platform for Notify Normal, Onsolve/CodeRED, offers a mobile app for Android and iPhone devices. You may wish to download the free app which allows you to receive alerts based on the geo-location of your mobile device. This app is not branded Notify Normal.

As you travel through other communities using the Onsolve/CodeRED platform, you can receive important community and emergency alerts and severe weather information. To download the Onsolve/CodeRED Mobile Alert app, visit the App Store or Google Play.