Community Pulse: Coal City thankful for spirit of collaboration with local governments

The Village of Coal City will be reaching the 10th anniversary of a devastating tornado that swept through the community affecting 1/3 of its total housing stock on June 22, 2015. Overcoming this large impact was helped by the collaboration, caring, and contributions from the larger community. Much like the Fire Districts have an automatic box alarm system and the Police Departments participate in ILEAS (Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System), this event brought the evolution of the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network (IPWMAN), which brought municipalities from northeast and central Illinois to clear debris and assist homeowners with the task of clearing their property and begin building again. At that time, the State of Illinois was amidst a budget crises resulting in three years’ time without an adopted fiscal budget and piles of unpaid bills; in fact, despite millions of cost from clearing the roadway of debris, no assistance came from the State and the affected population was not enough to surpass the funding formula to gain federal assistance.

It was the collaboration of these mutual aid response networks which provided a timely response and lifted the spirits of Coal City residents as they witnessed dump trucks from Algonquin, Washington, Minooka, and Shorewood assisting with clearing debris while officers from Joliet, Illinois State Police and Grundy County were assisting with maintaining a security perimeter while different emergency management agencies assisted with placing emergency lighting for neighborhoods that were without electricity for an extended period.

This spirit of collaboration is essential to local government. Many local entities rely upon collaboration in times of emergency as well as regularly pooling resources in order to lower the cost of providing services. Grundy County is home to a very organized emergency response network led by the Grundy County Emergency Management Agency, which organizes emergency response and hazard mitigation plans. Much of the hours spent on these tasks are performed by trained volunteers who live within our community.

At the time of the tornado, Grundy County Consolidated Dispatch was in approximately its third year of operation. One can only imagine the number and severity of calls as the storm passed over the posted storm spotters, residents responding to the trauma of their residence being decimated, and the constant communication as the Coal City Fire District cleared homes to determine if anyone was trapped or needed assistance. This operation which is run jointly between the supervision of the Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB) and Grundy County is a shining example of what can be done when all of the agencies collaborate to provide an essential service. They, along with all of the public safety agencies, are standing by ready to respond should it become necessary.

Looking back, Coal City is thankful for all of these agencies’ quick and well-focused response. It is local government resources and collaboration that many of us take for granted, but is continually training and operating to provide a better quality of life for our residents.