Governor Rauner activates State Incident Response Center in Springfield
State ready to assist following oil train derailment in NW Illinois

[March 05, 2015]  SPRINGFIELD – Governor Rauner today activated the State Incident Response Center (SIRC) in Springfield to ensure state personnel and equipment are ready to be quickly deployed if needed to help local emergency responders deal with a crude oil train derailment and subsequent fire that occurred this afternoon near Galena in Jo Daviess County.

Governor Rauner also deployed staff from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to the scene.

“I activated the State Incident Response Center to ensure we’re ready to act quickly if any local responders need our assistance,” said Governor Rauner.

Representatives from several state agencies are reporting to the SIRC, including IEMA, IEPA, Illinois State Police, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois National Guard, Illinois Department of Central Management Services, Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois Department on Aging, Illinois Department of Corrections, Office of the State Fire Marshal and the American Red Cross.

The SIRC will remain activated as long as necessary.

For updates on the current situation, visit the Ready Illinois website at www.ready.illinois.gov.

[Lance Trover, Office of the Governor Bruce Rauner and Patti Thompson, Illinois Emergency Management Agency]