IEMA announces two public-private initiatives to enhance public safety
Two new public-private initiatives
announced today by the Illinois Emergency Management
Agency (IEMA) will strengthen coordination between
the state and the private sector before, during and
after disasters. A new Business Emergency Operations
Center (BEOC) will enhance communications between the
private sector and state emergency management
personnel to improve response and recovery efforts
for major disasters. In addition, a rail security
agreement with CSX will provide the state with access
to critical real-time information about rail
operations to aid in law enforcement and homeland
security efforts.
“These collaborations with the private sector will
enable us to more effectively respond to emergencies
and protect the citizens of Illinois,” said IEMA
Director Jonathon Monken. “The Business Emergency
Operations Center will help us tap into the
situational awareness, communications capabilities
and other valuable resources of the private sector to
help communities recover from the impact of an event
more quickly. And the CSX partnership is a model for
a collaborative public-private security initiative
that we hope to replicate with other industries to
better serve our communities.”
Representatives from 50 companies and associations in
Illinois were on hand for the formal unveiling of the
Business Emergency Operations Center (BEOC) Wednesday
at the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in
Springfield. The BEOC will offer a physical location
where representatives from 15 sectors of the private
sector can report following a major disaster.
The site, located in the SEOC in Springfield, will be
just steps away from the State Incident Response
Center (SIRC), where IEMA coordinates response to
disasters with representatives from state and federal
agencies and other key organizations.
Monken said the purpose of the BEOC is not for
obtaining goods and services, but rather for
harnessing information available through the private
sector and coordinating it with response and recovery
actions developed in the SEOC.
“During emergencies, the public and private sectors
need to rely on each other, and the Business
Emergency Operations Center will provide the
opportunity for us to grow those important
relationships,” said Mike Marx, managing supervisor,
distribution operating support for Ameren Illinois.
“Now when a disaster happens, these relationships
will already be established and, as a result, the
overall response will be even better.”
Sectors that will be represented in the BEOC include:
agriculture and food; retail; energy; information
technology; postal and shipping; bank and finance;
communications, transportation systems; chemical;
manufacturing; healthcare and public health, water;
security; small business; and service industry.
The BEOC will be activated for the first time during
the state’s earthquake exercise Nov. 15-17.
The partnership between CSX and IEMA, known as
SecureNOW, provides security officials with access to
CSX’s Network Operations Workstation (NOW) system.
This secure online system, developed and used by CSX,
allows security and law enforcement officials to
independently track the location of CSX trains and
the contents of rail cars in a nearly real-time
environment.
In addition to providing access to the NOW system,
CSX works with law enforcement officials on joint
rail security training and preparedness exercises,
and provides around-the-clock access to CSX rail
security professionals.
“This partnership allows CSX and state officials to
effectively and seamlessly share information and work
side by side to safeguard the communities and
customers that we serve,” said Skip Elliott, CSX Vice
President of Public Safety and Environment.
CSX has SecureNOW partnerships with several other
states it serves.