Originally published January 12, 1996.
8-4-7. What’s this? A quarterback barking out signals? An elementary school locker combination? Barbie doll measurements? The answer is none of the above. It’s the new area code for everyone in the WHS attendance area and then some.
“We want to make the transition to the new area code as smooth as possible,” Doug Whitley, president of Ameritech Illinois, told the Chicago Tribune last Nov. 20. On Jan. 20 the first of three area code changes will go into effect. On this day the 847 area code for the northern suburbs of Chicago, most of Lake County, will be part of McHenry County included in the 708 area code, and a portion of Kane County will take effect. Calls will go through using either 708 847 for ninety days. After that, the new area code must be used.
If the new area code is not used, a recording will be heard and the caller will be asked to hang up and redial using the correct area code. This recording will be used until the new telephone directories come out next year. All together, about 32,000 Ameritech customers will be inconvenienced by a change in either an area code or a phone number. This change was brought on by increased usage of wireless telephone services for car phones, pagers, fax machines, and computers which depleted the number of available phone numbers.
Another new area code – 630 – will go into effect in August of this year. This change will affect DuPage County, the southern part of Kane County, and the parts of Kendall and Will counties currently using the 708 area code. A total of about 5,300 customers in Bartlett, Burr Ridge, Elk Grove, Schaumburg, Streamwood, and Wayne will also have to get used to a new phone number.
In October 1996 the city of Chicago will also be divided into two area codes: the downtown area will continue to use the 312 area code while the rest of the city will use 773. By that time, the 708 area code will only be used in the sub- urbs South and Southwest of Chicago. The cost of calls to all the new num- Ebers and area codes will stay the same as will calls to 911 and 411. For additional information or questions, Ameritech has provided an information hot-line number, 1-800-988-5888, and an Internet address, http://www.ameritech.com/areacode.
