Workshop Executive Summary: Civic Leaders Speak Out About Emergency Preparedness
February 2007

The "Civic Leaders Speak Out About Emergency Preparedness" Workshop was convened by McCormick Tribune Foundation and the National Strategy Forum. The event was held at the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum in Chicago, IL on February 22, 2007.

The following summary was excerpted from the full report. To read the full report, click here:

The chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina clearly illustrated the devastating consequences of a lack of emergency preparedness at all levels. After witnessing such an event, it seems unthinkable that we wouldn’t do everything possible to be ready for the next disaster. Yet, earlier this year, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security study of emergency preparedness in large urban areas around the country revealed that Chicago is not well prepared to respond to a major catastrophic event. With this in mind, the McCormick Tribune Foundation, in partnership with the National Strategy Forum, convened a group of approximately 100 civic leaders at the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum in downtown Chicago to discuss emergency preparedness in Chicagoland. Participants included representatives from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, as well as students and young professionals.

As recent catastrophic incidents have shown, essential government services may be disrupted for some period of time and first responders may be overwhelmed. As a result, in the first 72 hours after a disaster, individual preparedness and pre-existing social networks—including neighbors, community associations, the workplace, schools, or places of worship—may be a temporary alternative to government resources. In such situations, being prepared and informed can significantly reduce the impact of a disaster. The workshop participants’ comments were organized into three main sections of the report:

1. General thoughts on preparedness and the particularities of our region

2. Concrete action items for the home, the workplace, and the greater community

3. Possible partnerships with the public, private and nonprofit sector.

4. An appendix which is a reference guide to the major national and local preparedness information resources.

The report is intended to inform civic leaders and the general public on issues related to disaster preparedness in the Chicago area and to motivate them to take action in their communities. To make this information useful and relevant, the workshop group was asked to think about preparedness broadly, in a way that applies to situations ranging from a large-scale incident like bio-terrorism or a natural disaster to a more contained event like a power outage or an apartment fire. This is not intended to be a comprehensive study of disaster preparedness, but merely the beginning of a longer conversation on strengthening the civic health of our region.

Part I: Starting Points

Participants noted that a number of preparedness resources and programs already exist and are easily accessible through the Internet or community organizations like the local Red Cross. So, why aren’t we taking advantage of them? Several theories arose about the public’s seeming reluctance to prepare for an emergency situation. One of the most repeated thoughts was that, in order to be credible, the threat needs to sound real. When discussing disaster, there is a tendency to focus on the most catastrophic events, such as a terrorist attack or a mass epidemic. All too often these types of incidents seem like very remote possibilities and we dismiss the warnings with a "this can’t happen to me" attitude. A civic leader trying to encourage preparedness in his or her community, therefore, should craft a message at a level that everyone can relate to. Participants suggested using realistic scenarios such as a personal story from someone affected by a disaster talking about the consequences of not being prepared, losing a home, or not being able to find a family member. The goal shouldn’t be to frighten, but to appeal to people’s emotions in a way that induces them to take action.

Another obstacle is the tendency to think about emergency planning only in the immediate aftermath of a disaster while the images of destruction and loss are still vivid in our minds. It is crucial, then, to emphasize that effective preparedness is an ongoing process and that our families and communities should always be ready to react to any emergency situation.

One final point was that there is a misconception that being prepared is cost prohibitive or just plain inconvenient. Cost-free, easy-to-access resources are widely available, yet only a small portion of the population takes the time to do the research. Civic leaders can contribute significantly by showing people where they can find information or how to assemble a simple emergency kit with common household items.

Part II: Basic action items for the home, the workplace, and the community

When thinking about how to be as prepared as possible for the immediate aftermath of any type of disaster, one attendee suggested adopting a "worst case scenario" philosophy. This means creating a personal safety checklist by asking questions like: "What if I can’t find my children?", "What if all public transportation is shut down and the roads are blocked off?", "What if I can’t get to (or can’t leave) my home?" Participants offered a number of concrete actions that we—as individuals and/or civic leaders—can take right now to protect our family, our workplace, and our community. Suggestions include: for the family, keeping emergency kits at home and in the workplace and make sure they are updated regularly, and knowing your children’s school emergency plan; for the workplace, holding regular emergency evacuation drills and make all employees familiar with the site’s emergency procedures; and for the community, becoming a volunteer civilian emergency responder through the Citizen Corps or similar program.

Part III: Partnering with the public, nonprofit, and private sectors

Civic leaders do not need to reinvent the wheel. A range of existing local, regional, and national programs and planning resources make basic preparedness information and training tools available to the general public. Civic leaders should also become familiar with federal, state, and local projects related to safety and security and use those as models when building their own initiatives. Participant recommendations for partnering included: working with the towns and cities in our region to create a September 11 "Prudent Preparation Day," which would be dedicated to commemorating 9/11 with a range of programming on emergency preparedness, and partnering with a company that produces a common household product that people use or see every day and get them to advertise on their packaging.

It is impossible to predict or control local and national government’s level of preparedness; however, as individuals, there is a responsibility for families and communities to become better informed about disaster preparedness.