The top homeland security adviser to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has one word to describe the state’s security plan in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon explosion Monday that killed three people and left 170 people injured: preparedness.
“It’s not unreasonable to expect there would be something similar,” said Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Jonathon Monken. “That’s an expectation we carry in the intelligence community. We have to operate under the assumption that someone will always try again. We just have to gather and share information to stop the next one.”
Monday’s incident was the first terrorism attack on the United States since Sept. 11, 2001.
Monken, stationed at the IEMA headquarters in Springfield, said he’s been in contact with his counterparts, Cook County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Executive Director Michael Masters and Gary Schenkel, executive director of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications, to ensure upcoming public events will be safe by sending additional resources.
The next large-scale public event in Chicago is the BIO International Convention April 22-25 at McCormick Place. But the public most likely will not notice a difference in security measures, according to Monken, because Chicago has always been proactive with its security measures and implementing them seamlessly.
If need be, Monken said, the Illinois can send Cook County additional security resources such as state police and swat teams, the national guard, weapons of mass destruction team, additional bomb sniffing dogs and even chemical biological mobile lab equipment.
“We have a lot of capabilities. We’re scalable. We can send anything from communication resources to search and rescue teams,” added Monken.
“One of the most important things is maintaining open communications,” Masters said.
The attack has sparked pleas from law enforcement officials to become more invested in the nation’s security.
“We encourage the public to be vigilant, and to listen to direction from state and local officials,” Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said in a written statement on the department’s website.
Now, more than ever, the public has an important role in the nation’s security, Monken said. “If they spot people out of place, a car parked or suspicious package, they need to feel confident reporting that to local law enforcement.”
No suspects have been named in the Boston Marathon bombings. President Barack Obama called the bombings “an act of terrorism.”
“What we don’t yet know, however, is who carried out this attack, or why; whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual,” Obama said in a televised statement Monday evening.
Monken, a West Point graduate, said the weapons and tactics used in the Boston bombings were “reminiscent” of tactics used by Islamic militants during his two tours of duty in Iraq.
“We hoped it would never come back to us but its very similar to things we saw in Iraq,” Monken said.
