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NOTICE:
TIEMS Transportation Safety and Security Workshop January 28-29th 2003
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Welcome to
the
Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management
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| January 2003
Volume 3 - Number 4 |
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Links:
Current events
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IL and Terrorism/Bioterrorism Preparedness
Molly Weber
Abstract
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 opened the eyes of Americans to a new world, one were the terrorist threat is real and palpable, and their own vulnerability, as a nation and a people. Since that date, the United States as a whole and the individual states have worked tirelessly to secure the homeland and prepare for possible future attacks. During the last year, states and organizations have spent considerable time, effort and money conducting risk assessments and planning to strengthen security and response. Many entities face a long road ahead, having found themselves standing flatfooted in the weeks following September 11. One state that has a jumpstart on the rest is Illinois. This state had the foresight to begin preparing for a terrorist event long before September 11 occurred. The Illinois Terrorism Task Force was created in 2000 to prepare Illinois for a possible terrorist incident. Following September 11, Illinois pushed the Task Force to move more rapidly in updating and implementing existing preparedness and response plans and more aggressively on tasks still to be addressed. The state has achieved much in 2001. Among the accomplishments was the development of three State Weapons of Mass Destruction Teams (SWMD) to respond to events related to weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, Illinois was a leader in developing the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS). Through the ITTF, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) developed four Illinois Medical Emergency Response Teams (IMERT). The Department’s laboratories were updated previously with grant money from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The State is also home to the National Guard Fifth Civil Support Team (CST). The CST is trained to respond to events involving weapons of mass destruction such as chemical, nuclear and biological weapons and can go anywhere in the state. Currently, Illinois is expanding the HAN/HHAN networks to reach each of the local health departments and hospitals. It is working to fully implement the Illinois National Electronic Data Surveillance System (I-NEDSS) within the HAN/HHAN networks. In addition, Illinois has conducted numerous training seminars statewide to update first responders on the state response plans; the public was invited to attend these seminars. Follow-up seminars were held by the ITTF and the Illinois Fire Service Institute. These seminars focused on working with county and local first responders and public officials to provide feedback regarding local needs and modify comprehensive state plans for responding to emergencies. Following the sessions, a statewide summit brought together first responders and political leaders to discuss issues from the local seminars and start constructing a more all-encompassing strategy and planning document for future efforts involving terrorism response activities. Illinois also held the Illinois Statewide Emergency Management Conference with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) on September 4 and 5, 2002. Illinois has one of the highest levels of preparedness in the country. Other states have frequently requested assistance from Illinois in the development of their own terrorism plans. This paper will look in depth at the advances Illinois has achieved in the last year, ongoing planning and implementation and what obstacles and problems still to confront in terrorism preparation. To full paper |