Campus Security Task Force Readies Final Report

Story by Tom Smith

The Illinois Campus Security Task Force wants a law requiring all post-secondary schools to have an emergency response plan to handle shooting incidents like those at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. Gov. Rod Blagojevich created the task force following the April 2007 mass shooting on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va. where a lone gunman killed 33 people, including himself.

The task force recommendation is part of a year-long study and report that will be released by the end of this month. Over the past year, the task force met with national and state experts in the areas of education, security, mental health and the law.

The Illinois Board of Higher Education and the public received a preview of the task force report at the IBHE monthly board meeting April 1 at Illinois State University in Normal.

Task Force Chair Mike Chamness said the proposed legislation should be funded by $25 million from the state’s capital fund. However, this could prove difficult since lawmakers haven’t passed a capital construction bill since Blagojevich took office in 2002.

Chamness said the group concluded any effective campus-wide security response plan must be multi-layered and include both high- and low-tech methods.

“The systems must be redundant and include emails, text-messaging, phones and computers,” said Chamness, but a system which relies solely on electronics would be a big mistake because of potential equipment and power failures, he said.

Chamness said NIU’s response to the Feb. 14 shootings inside a lecture hall was swift and effective, but the cell phone system failed when it became overloaded with calls from frantic students, faculty and concerned parents. On Feb. 14, 27-year-old Steven Kazmierczak walked into NIU’s Cole Hall then shot and killed five students before taking his own life.

Because the cell phone system jammed, Chamness said administrators must also incorporate low-tech devices such as sirens, loud speakers and even police squad cars with speakers that broadcast any potential threat.

“Redundancy is the key,” he said.

The task force was ready to issue its report in February but delayed the release because of the NIU shootings.

Chamness said his group incorporated some lessons from NIU, including the importance of police cross-training. Chamness called it invaluable because NIU officers were trained as emergency medical technicians and gave wounded students immediate medical attention, for example.

Another lesson from NIU that will be part of the task force report was the handling of an active shooter on campus. Although the gunman at NIU quickly took his own life, the officers were trained to deal with such a situation.

On some campuses, security officers depend on a separate, specially-trained response team, but Chamness said having all campus officers trained to respond could make a big difference in any future violent incidents.

Chamness expected both recommendations to be part of the final report which the task force would review before submitting to the governor’s office later this month.

Board Chairwoman Carrie Hightman released a statement by email that said, “We wanted this special session at the Board of Higher Education meeting to be a tribute to the courageous students, faculty and staff at Northern Illinois University as well as a teachable moment to help us more deeply understand the issues involved.”

Elementary and secondary schools nationwide have federal and state laws covering evacuations, fire drills and other emergency management plans, but they don’t apply to post-secondary facilities. In Illinois, Blagojevich signed executive order 12 in 2004 requiring Illinois colleges and universities to meet federal regulations for emergency preparedness, but facilities are given wide discretion and enforcement is lax, said Ron Ellis, a retired state police commander and task force member.

If the governor signs off on the report, a bill mandating all-hazardous emergency response plans would be introduced in the General Assembly. Eventually, the task force would assist in the development of plans for Illinois’ colleges, universities and community colleges. State officials would conduct a periodic review of school response plans. No timetable has yet been set.

“There is no such thing as one size fits all. Emergency plans must be tailor-made for that particular school,” said Ron Ellis. “Once you hear a siren, or receive an alert, you must know what it means. It’s going to require training and money,” said Ellis.

“We must plan for all things after what occurred at NIU,” said state Rep. Mike Bost (R-Carbondale), a member of the House education committee. “I can support spending $25 million as long as there are strict and clear guidelines on how it is spent.”