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GOV. BLAGOJEVICH
HIGHLIGHTS HOMELAND SECURITY
PREPAREDNESS SEMINAR FOR ILLINOIS
BUSINESSES
Efforts Continue to
Foster Security and Business Innovation
in Illinois'
Growing Homeland Security Marketplace
CHICAGO - Furthering his efforts to
enhance Illinois' homeland security
preparedness and response capabilities,
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich praised an
important opportunity for state
businesses to get professional
assistance with business continuity and
recovery planning. Lincoln Land
Community College today hosted a seminar
on "Enhancing Your Business' Emergency
Preparedness through Alliance
Formation," made possible through a
$25,000 Opportunity Returns grant. The
seminar presented regional business
owners with best practices in
establishing strong partnerships with
police, fire and other emergency
management personnel, public health
experts, peer businesses and others to
reduce the impact of a crisis, and
improve their ability to maintain
operations during disasters.
"Today, more than ever, business owners
must make important decisions before a
crisis arrives to ensure that their
business remains strong, even in the
face of a disaster. Illinois is a
nationally recognized leader in homeland
defense, and businesses in our state
have incredible tools at their
fingertips to ensure their livelihood
remains secure and to keep people
working," Gov. Blagojevich said.
Many businesses do not have defined
strategies in the event of fires,
accidents, terrorist attacks or natural
disasters, and the seminar stressed
contingency planning so businesses can
remain operational through a crisis.
Topics included emergency preparedness,
risk assessment, incident command
systems and crisis communications.
Following presentations from national
experts in business continuity planning
and emergency preparedness, attendees
worked through a simulated disaster
scenario in emergency response and
recovery. Attendees had a greater
understanding on the value of emergency
preparedness, mitigation, response and
recovery through their participation.
It is anticipated that more than 150
Illinois companies will gain a better
awareness, as well as strategies to
improve their emergency preparedness,
after attending this and similar
seminars at John A. Logan College in
Carterville and College of Lake County
in Grayslake.
"This one-day course offered area
business owners important insights on
how to keep their business operational
even when disaster hits. Gov.
Blagojevich believes contingency
planning is an important step every
business should take to ensure stability
and continuity for their customers,"
Illinois Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity Director Jack Lavin
said. "With the knowledge gained through
this training program, businesses will
be better equipped to plan their
individual response and recovery
strategies, which will help them to
maintain operations and, ultimately,
keep their employees on the job."
Securing and building Illinois
businesses in the homeland security
marketplace has been a priority since
Gov. Blagojevich announced his effort to
grow this industry in his State of the
State address in 2005. Through his
comprehensive strategy, Gov. Blagojevich
is recruiting new and supporting
existing Illinois businesses engaged in
this industry, investing in institutions
and infrastructure that will heighten
research and development activities and
accelerate the deployment of new
products, ensuring companies engaged in
the homeland security marketplace have a
top-notch workforce, and that Illinois
is producing the next generation of
leaders for this critical national
industry.
Gov. Blagojevich's Opportunity Returns
regional economic development strategy
is the most aggressive, comprehensive
approach to creating jobs in Illinois'
history. Since a one-size-fits-all
approach to economic development just
doesn't work, the Governor has divided
the state into 10 regions - each with a
regional team that is empowered and
expected to rapidly respond to
opportunities and challenges.
Opportunity Returns is about tangible,
specific actions to make each region
more accessible, more marketable, more
entrepreneurial and more attractive to
businesses. It is about upgrading the
skills of the local workforce,
increasing the access to capital,
opening new markets, improving
infrastructure, and creating and
retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is
about successfully partnering with
companies and communities, both large
and small, to help all of Illinois reach
its economic potential. |
