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Board member Marikay Hegarty, who is the director of the Records
Services Division of the Chicago Police Department, and Col. Jill
Morgenthaler, deputy chief of staff for public safety at the
Illinois Department of Homeland Security, will co-chair the
committee. The rest of the committee will comprise public safety
officers from 11 Illinois community colleges, plus a representative
each from the Illinois Community College Trustees Association,
Illinois Community College Council of Presidents, Illinois Community
College Faculty Association and the Illinois Community College Board
Student Advisory Committee. The committee will investigate such
issues as the preparedness of the community college system in case
of an emergency. It will examine current policies, procedures and
training for security personnel. It will also look at the
professional development and technical assistance needs of campus
security staff.
"The ICCB feels that forming this committee is a critical
preventative measure to prepare for emergency situations at both the
local and statewide level," said Guy Alongi, chairman of the
Illinois Community College Board.
Illinois community colleges are already extensively involved in
homeland security training through state and federal grant programs.
The specific goals of this committee are to:
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Establish a
statewide homeland security policy that will set response
guidelines for all community colleges to work with local, state
and federal agencies.
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Examine the
preparedness of each community college district in case of a
domestic or international terrorist attack.
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Survey the current
police and security departments of community colleges to
determine if they have adequately trained personnel, such as
Police Training Institute and weapons training from a
state-licensed institution.
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Make
recommendations on the number of PTI-trained personnel each
college should have, make sure those supervising police chiefs
and security directors have a common knowledge of homeland
security and campus security, and make recommendations as to who
should be in direct supervision of those chiefs and directors.
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Make
recommendations to the Illinois Community College Board of ways
to fund grants to colleges and on technical assistance needs and
continuing education opportunities.
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Establish a
communication network to share practices and information with
college security personnel.
The Illinois Community College System is the third-largest
community college system in the nation and comprises 48 community
colleges in 39 districts covering all of Illinois. Illinois
community colleges annually serve approximately a million students
in college transfer courses, work force development, continuing
education and adult education programs.
The Illinois Community College Board is the state coordinating
board for community colleges. It comprises a chairman and 10 other
members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the
Senate, and a nonvoting student member appointed by the Student
Advisory Committee.
[Illinois Community
College Board news release] |
