(A) Each political subdivision within the county shall be within the jurisdiction of and served by the County Emergency Management Agency or by a municipal Emergency Management Agency responsible for the emergency management programs.
(B) Each municipality which is not required to and does not have an Emergency Management Agency shall have a liaison officer designated to facilitate the cooperation and protection of the municipal corporation with the county Emergency Management Agency in which it is located in the work of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
(C) The principal executive officer of each political subdivision in the county shall annually notify the Illinois Emergency Management Agency of the manner in which the political subdivision is providing or securing emergency management, identify the executive head of the agency or the department from which the service is obtained, or the liaison officer, and furnish additional information relating thereto as the Illinois Emergency Management Agency requires.
(D) Each Emergency Management Agency shall prepare and keep current an emergency operations plan for its geographic boundaries.
(E) The Emergency Management Agency shall prepare and distribute to all appropriate officials in written form a clear and complete statement of the emergency responsibilities of all local departments and officials and of the disaster chain of command.
(F) Each Emergency Management Agency shall have a Coordinator who shall be appointed by the principal executive officer of the political subdivision in the same manner as are the heads of regular governmental departments. The Coordinator shall have direct responsibility for the organization, administration, training and operation of the Emergency Management Agency, subject to the direction and control of that principal executive officer. Each Emergency Management Agency shall coordinate emergency management functions within the territorial limits of the political subdivision within which it is organized as are prescribed in and by the County Emergency Operation Plan, and programs, orders, rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and, in addition, shall conduct the functions outside of those territorial limits as may be required pursuant to mutual aid agreements.
(G) In carrying out the provisions of this subchapter, each political subdivision may enter into contracts and incur obligations necessary to place it in a position effectively to combat the disasters as are described in § 34.01(A) to protect the health and safety of persons and to protect property, and to provide emergency assistance to victims of those disasters. If a disaster occurs, each political subdivision may exercise the powers vested under this section in the light of the exigencies of the disaster and, excepting mandatory constitutional requirements, without regard to the procedures and formalities normally prescribed by law pertaining to the performance of public work entering into contracts, the incurring of obligations, the employment of temporary workers, the rental of equipment, the purchase of supplies and materials and the appropriation, expenditure and disposition of public funds and property.
(H) Emergency Management Agency personnel who, while engaged in a disaster or disaster training exercise, suffer disease, injury or death, shall, for the purposes of benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act, being ILCS Ch. 820, Act 305, or Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act, being ILCS Ch. 820, Act 310, only, be deemed to be employees of the state, if the claimant is duly qualified and enrolled (sworn in) as a volunteer of the County Emergency Management Agency or an Emergency Management Agency accredited by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and if the claimant was participating in an actual disaster or the exercise participated in was specifically and expressly approved by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall use the same criteria for approving an exercise and utilizing state volunteers as required for any political subdivision. The computation of benefits payable under either of those Acts shall be based on the income commensurate with comparable state employees doing the same work or income from the person’s regular employment, whichever is greater.
(I) If any person who is entitled to receive benefits through the application of this section received, in connection with the disease, injury or death giving rise to the entitlement, benefits under an Act of Congress or federal program, benefits payable under this section shall be reduced to the extent of the benefits received under that other Act or program.
(J) (1) Prior to conducting a disaster training exercise, the principal executive officer of a political subdivision or his or her designee shall provide area media with written notification of the disaster training exercise. The notification shall indicate that information relating to the disaster training exercise shall not be released to the public until the commencement of the exercise. The notification shall also contain a request that the notice be so posted to ensure that all relevant media personnel are advised of the disaster training exercise before it begins.
(2) During the conduct of the disaster training exercise, all messages, two-way radio communication briefings, status reports, news releases and other oral or written communications shall begin and end with the following statement: “This is an exercise message”.
(Prior Code, § 35.04) (Ord. passed 3-16-1989)