The Illinois Lottery will begin broadcasting Amber Alerts through its retailers. Lottery Director Michael Jones said yesterday the agency will use advertising monitors in more than 8,200 retailers to notify customers about abducted children.
The Amber Alert program is a voluntary partnership among law enforcement agencies, broadcasters and the National Weather Service that spreads the word about the most serious abduction cases.
During an alert, the lottery will send a message to its retailers. The message is displayed along with photos of the child -- if available -- on in-store display monitors.
The message will be repeated for 20 seconds every minute or so until the alert is canceled.
Officials say a majority of lottery retailers are located near highways which will help spread the messages.