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VILLAGE OF RIVER FOREST
PRESS RELEASE
ELECTION NIGHT, 11/04/08

River Forest, Illinois - On Election Day, the Village of River Forest established an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the Village Hall given the potential for large election night crowds that might affect River Forest. The EOC was activated at 6:00 PM and de-activated at 1:00 AM on 11/05/08. During this time, there were few election related calls for service.

Village Administrator Steve Gutierrez said, “We were happy to see very little activity on election night but were still able to use the event as an opportunity to practice emergency operations. Our Police Department did an excellent job of putting together a plan and Chief of Police Limon coordinated that plan very well.”

The EOC was equipped with three telephones and several laptop computers, a projection screen to display our dispatch function
and incoming e-mail, televisions with cable connections to monitor relevant news sources, and a police radio to monitor other agencies, notably the closest Chicago Police Districts.

River Forest’s Chief of Police, Frank Limon, exercised established contacts with Chicago Police and regional resources to provide the EOC and line officers with accurate, timely intelligence regarding the Grant Park election rally and related occurrences, an invaluable resource which was shared with surrounding police agencies.

Arrangements were made in advance to receive regular status reports from stakeholders, including the two universities in River Forest and the River Forest Town Center. An emergency traffic plan was developed in case of traffic problems within the village.

The West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center, the River
Forest Police and Fire Departments, the Public Works Department and River Forest Village employees and officials, as well as officers and firefighters from neighboring communities, all performed well and worked as a team during this event.