ChicagoFIRST
ChicagoFIRST ? Chicago
Formed in 2002 with partnerships between industry leaders and public safety agencies, ChicagoFIRST?s initial mission was to ensure the city?s financial institutions remain up and running during emergencies. Its scope has widened to include energy providers, insurance companies and other key players in Chicago?s economy.
?The mission is to foster an environment in which the members can collaborate with each other in a trusted fashion to enhance their overall resilience,? Brian Tishuk, ChicagoFIRST?s executive director, says. ?And then, as a group, to collaborate with government at all levels to both further enhance their resilience? but then to also help government at those levels ? local, state and federal ? do their job in the areas where there are overlapping responsibilities and benefits.?
Areas where such collaboration would be important in the event of an emergency include credentialing, or allowing the right private sector officials access ?through the yellow tape? to recover data, assess losses or continue operations, Tishuk says.
Public and private collaboration also contributes to the development of efficient evacuation procedures. ?The public sector would want you to evacuate in a certain way? and if there are problems doing it that way, then the public sector should be made aware of the problems, and a resolution should be worked out,? Tishuk says. ChicagoFIRST is also tackling cybersecurity. ?That?s a very interesting thing, because it?s not geographically based. So it isn?t strictly city, it isn?t strictly state, and it isn?t strictly federal? but it clearly does require some governmental assistance to handle,? Tishuk says.
Overall, ChicagoFIRST exists to ensure there will be collaboration and communication before a problem exists. Often public safety has a segmented approach, Tishuk says, with different departments building ?information silos.? Through information sharing, ChicagoFIRST?s mission is to make sure a large-scale event won?t bring the city to its knees.
