Emergency Management

Educate Thyself. 

Don't talk to the police.  Don't talk to the police.  Don't talk to the police.

http://www.hackaday.com/2008/06/16/dont-talk-to-the-police/

From the Chicago Tribune:

American Red Cross says disaster funds are depleted
By AMY LORENTZEN | Associated Press Writer
June 16, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa - The American Red Cross said on Monday that its Disaster Relief Fund is wiped out and it's being forced to borrow money to help flood victims throughout the Midwest.

Jeff Towers, the organization's chief development officer, said the balance for domestic disaster relief efforts is zero. He said the American Red Cross would borrow to keep workers and volunteers in the field helping flood victims.

"The Red Cross remains committed to providing the scale of services that people expect of the Red Cross when disaster strikes, and the way that we are doing that right now is taking out loans to fund our response," he said during a conference call from Washington. "That's not a position we want to be in; it's obviously not sustainable."

The shortage in the organization's only domestic disaster relief fund comes as it continues flood relief efforts in soaked Iowa and ramps up its work downstream in Illinois and Missouri as more flooding is expected there. Officials said the Red Cross has 2,500 workers on the ground, 89 percent of them volunteers.

A lot of us have friends and family that have been affected or even devastated by the recent flooding in the region. If you have the means, the Red Cross and those in need of their assistance, are in need of your assistance. From the Red Cross's appeal for volunteers and donations:

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the tornadoes and floods in the Central United States, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

Do what you can, even if it ain't much... and spread the word.  It can be amazing what the fluttering of a butterfly's wings can do.

Ross Perot has a new (at least it's new to me) website with some educational information including a

slide show on federal revenues and spending and projections for the future.

Say what you want about Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago, but I bet this drill is something that few other cities in America would be willing to even try, let alone pull off.  Heck, I bet New Orleans still doesn't know how to evacuate their city.

Does anyone know if Champaign and/or Urbana have evacuation plans?

Honore: And Mr. Mayor, let's go back, because I can see right now, we're setting this up as he said, he said, we said. All right? We are not going to go, by order of the mayor and the governor, and open the convention center for people to come in. There are buses there. Is that clear to you? Buses parked. There are 4,000 troops there. People come, they get on a bus, they get on a truck, they move on. Is that clear? Is that clear to the public?

Female reporter: Where do they move on...

Honore: That's not your business.

Male reporter: But General, that didn't work the first time...

Honore: Wait a minute. It didn't work the first time. This ain't the first time. Okay? If...we don't control Rita, you understand? So there are a lot of pieces of it that's going to be worked out. You got good public servants working through it. Let's get a little trust here, because you're starting to act like this is your problem. You are carrying the message, okay? What we're going to do is have the buses staged. The initial place is at the convention center. We're not going to announce other places at this time, until we get a plan set, and we'll let people know where those locations are, through the government, and through public announcements. Right now, to handle the number of people that want to leave, we've got the capacity. You will come to the convention center. There are soldiers there from the 82nd Airborne, and from the Louisiana National Guard. People will be told to get on the bus, and we will take care of them. And where they go will be dependent on the capacity in this state. We've got our communications up. And we'll tell them where to go. And when they get there, they'll be able to get a chance, an opportunity to get registered, and so they can let their families know where they are. But don't start panic here. Okay? We've got a location. It is in the front of the convention center, and that's where we will use to migrate people from it, into the system.

Male reporter: General Honore, we were told that Berman Stadium on the west bank would be another staging area...

Honore: Not to my knowledge. Again, the current place, I just told you one time, is the convention center. Once we complete the plan with the mayor, and is approved by the governor, then we'll start that in the next 12-24 hours. And we understand that there's a problem in getting communications out. That's where we need your help. But let's not confuse the questions with the answers. Buses at the convention center will move our citizens, for whom we have sworn that we will support and defend...and we'll move them on. Let's not get stuck on the last storm. You're asking last storm questions for people who are concerned about the future storm. Don't get stuck on stupid, reporters. We are moving forward. And don't confuse the people please. You are part of the public message. So help us get the message straight. And if you don't understand, maybe you'll confuse it to the people. That's why we like follow-up questions. But right now, it's the convention center, and move on.

Male reporter: General, a little bit more about why that's happening this time, though, and did not have that last time...

Honore: You are stuck on stupid. I'm not going to answer that question. We are going to deal with Rita. This is public information that people are depending on the government to put out. This is the way we've got to do it. So please. I apologize to you, but let's talk about the future. Rita is happening. And right now, we need to get good, clean information out to the people that they can use. And we can have a conversation on the side about the past, in a couple of months.

Transcript and audio here. 

Rich Miller of Capitol Fax emailed his subscribers their regular fix of political news today, and featured a story that he and I have been talking about since late last week - The lack of qualifications of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Williams Burke, how he was chosen by the Blagojevich adminstration for the position, and whether, after what we've seen with FEMA and its leadership, we should feel confidence in his abilities and experience.

From Capitol Fax today (reprinted with permission - go subscribe now!):

Illini Pundit, who blogs anonymously, asked me last week what I knew about William Burke, the director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, or IEMA. I did a quick search and remembered that I had done some research on the guy a few months before the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Burke, I remembered, had no emergency management experience when he was appointed.

Miller followed up and was able to secure a copy of Burke's resume from the administration:

But immediately prior to his GSA assignment, Burke ran Bobby Rush's 2002 congressional campaign and served for a brief time as the congressman's executive assistant. Word is that Burke was recommended for the top IEMA post by Senate President Emil Jones, who has installed several political allies in the Blagojevich administration. Those political ties almost certainly helped Burke move up the ladder, and like Mike Brown, could call into question why, exactly, he was appointed in the first place. The governor's office did not elaborate.

I had already covered the tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions made by Burke's former employer.  Above, Miller fills in the political dimension - Burke was a crony of Bobby Rush and Emil Jones.

The most important part of the story, to me, was that Burke had some government management experience from the General Services Administration, but absolutely zero emergency management or terrorism experience.  In fact, he's been receiving on-the-job training (a phrase the Governor's office thinks doesn't apply) since being appointed - in some cases taken classes that are being taught by his own staff:

Since his appointment, Burke has taken several classes in emergency management that his own agency offers. A spokesperson for the agency claims the director will fulfill requirements for a special certificate in emergency management sometime in 2006. But a spokesman for the governor's office denied that Burke had to be given "on the job training," stressing that many members of the governor's team, including herself, have had to participate in emergency preparedness courses.

Many of the classes taken are listed on the IEMA website.  In fact, here are the qualifications to be an "Illinois Professional Emergency Manager:"

Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), in partnership with Illinois Emergency Services Management Association (IESMA), has developed a program of special training to provide emergency managers the skills and tools necessary to not only succeed, but to excel in the total process of emergency management. The training covers all four phases of the emergency management process - preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.

The IPEM program, established in 2001, was updated in 2005. The updated program requirements are included for your convenience.

In addition to the core requirements, each candidate is required to complete sixteen (16) hours of IEMA/FEMA sponsored training. This elective course work enables emergency managers to build an individual program that meets goals specific to their career and the particular needs of the local jurisdiction they serve.

This is precisely the type of training and experience that Burke lacked when he was appointed to head the Agency, and which he is, even to this day, undertaking.  The IPEM designation is something that Burke, according to the IEMA site, still hasn't acheived (IPEM Recipients for 2002, 2003 & 2004).

I understand that much of the middle- and upper-level management of IEMA is superb.  The department seems to be well-respected around the country and there seems to be little cause for alarm.  But how many alarms were raised about FEMA and it's Director and his lack of experience prior to Hurricane Katrina and his resignation? 

Burke probably would not have been qualified to run a Regional IEMA or County-level Emergency Management office.  If there are excellent career Emergency Managers within IEMA who are doing excellent work (as there apparently are), why was a political crony like Burke appointed to oversee them given his complete lack of qualifications?  Should an agency like IEMA be run independently or should its senior management positions be patronage hires?  And how in the world was he confirmed unanimously by the State Senate?

Rich Miller has written a lot more as a follow-up to our caption contest (ends at noon today!) and our post about the lack of qualifications of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director William Burke and his lack in the subscription-only portion of his newsletter.  I'm seeking permission to reprint some of that here.

UPDATE:  Permission has been granted - I'll have more in a bit. 

Some badly misplaced outrage in response to this currently running caption contest featuring an Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) vehicle that’s been missing a wheel for several weeks piqued my curiosity.

Hurricane Katrina, and the response of New Orleans and Louisiana, clearly identified the dangers of political corruption when it infects emergency response agencies.  National Democrats, in fact, loudly criticized FEMA Director Michael Brown for his sparse emergency management qualifications and accused him of being a political hack, and last week he resigned.

IEMA is run by Director William C. Burke, who was appointed by “Public Offical A” / Governor Blagojevich in March, 2003, soon after Blago took office.

The Governor was very clear what his priorities were when he appointed Burke:

“My message today to the people of Illinois is to stay calm, and go about your business as usual. I know that’s easier said than done, but rest assured, we are fully prepared for any threat that could come our way,” Blagojevich said.

“As our entire nation faces intensifying security threats, Illinois stands ready and prepared to respond,” Blagojevich continued. “I am putting in place leaders who are experienced and well-prepared to direct a response to a terrorist attack in our state. With these additions to my cabinet and a full-time commitment to the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, Illinois is in an even better position to deal with acts of terrorism.”

The Governor’s appointments announced today reflect his commitment to maintaining a strong network of public safety officials to lead Illinois’ terrorism preparedness efforts.

Mr. Burke’s previous position?

He currently works as marketing director for Teng & Associates, a Chicago architectural engineering firm. Burke is a native of Hyde Park, Illinois, where he now resides.

More on Burke’s background:

Though Burke has never dealt with terrorism issues, Blagojevich said his new IEMA head had a solid record of managing people. "More than anything else, emergency preparedness is about understanding how to manage the many moving and changing parts all at the same time," the governor said. "Bill Burke understands that as well as anyone."

…

"Nothing is more important than national security and homeland security and protecting the public, and I'm just not going to allow any kind of political considerations to keep me from doing my job at keeping people in the state of Illinois as safe as possible,” Blagojevich said.

Somehow, Burke, who had “never dealt with terrorism issues,” jumped into the Directorship of IEMA from a position as “marketing director for Teng & Associates, a Chicago architectural engineering firm.”  More on Teng & Associates here and here.

How does one make such a large jump?  In Blagojevich’s world, campaign contributions certainly help:  Teng & Associates, Burke’s employers prior to IEMA, have contributed over $70,000 to Friends of Blagojevich, with about half being donated prior to the 2002 election.

Rich Miller of Capitol Fax Blog is going to have much, much more about this story in today’s subscription-only newsletter and on his blog, including more details about Burke’s not-so-impressive qualifications and the steps being taken by the administration to address those shortcomings.

In the wake of Katrina and all we’ve learned about the crucial window immediately after a disaster when local and state first-responders must be organized and effective, it’s frightening that the Illinois Emergency Management Agency is being run by an unqualified hack with a marketing background and absolutely zero emergency management experience.  It’s corruption and cronyism like this that shouldn’t be tolerated – we’ve now seen, vividly, that it can cost lives.

UPDATE:  Burke was confirmed unanimously by both Democratic and Republican members of the Senate.  How disappointing...

I've never done a caption contest before, but a reader sent me the following picture, and I think this is the perfect opportunity.

• Post entries in the comments.  (If you don't want to include an email address, it will make it harder to contact you, but I'll post the winning comment next week and you can claim it in the comments without submitting an email address)
• Entries will be allowed until Tuesday, September 20 at Noon. 
• The winner will be selected by me and me alone.  All decisions are final.
• The prize will be a free BlogAd for a week to the organization of the winner's choice (within reason - no porn, for example).
• Insert all applicable legal disclaimers here, yada, yada, yada...

To set up the picture, here's the email that accompanied the picture:

This is an Illinois Emergency Management Agency vehicle that's been sitting in the parking garage (third level) at Huntington Tower for the past several weeks without a rear driver wheel.

I find this of interest considering the recent events in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, especially the lack of preparedness by state and federal agencies. It appears Illinois is just as prepared for an emergency as those states were.

I think it's kind of sad and funny, given what we've just witnessed with the hurricane.

I've sent this on to The News-Gazette and the three local television stations, but I know you will find a snappy caption for this one (Blago's fuel conservation plan - unusuable vehicles?).

Have at it.  (Click on the picture for a larger version)