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Elgin puts safety — of its City Council — first Bulletproof dais and individual panic buttons part of $75,000 package By Kate Thayer and John Keilman, Chicago Tribune reporters 9:53 p.m. CST, January 23, 2013 The streets of Elgin are as safe as they've been in 40 years, but government leaders aren't taking any chances when it comes to City Hall. The City Council voted unanimously late Wednesday to spend nearly $75,000 to bolster security as part of a remodeling of the 45-year-old building. The new features will include a staffed metal detector at the entrance, a bulletproof dais and panic buttons in the council chamber and several new surveillance cameras. City officials said no specific threat was behind the planned changes. It simply made sense to beef up security during the remodeling, they said, especially because the council chamber also serves as a branch of the Kane County court. "Most people who walk into a government building, they expect to be on camera somewhere, they expect to be protected," said Councilman John Prigge. "In this world we are surrounded by video cameras. We are a normally high-tech world. In the council chambers, it's fair to say we're not." Strong security measures have long been in place in courthouses, police headquarters and federal buildings, but city halls and school boards have remained relatively open. Across the country, though, that's starting to change as well-publicized acts of violence convince elected officials that it's time to turn their buildings into hard targets. They're installing metal detectors, having police officers stand guard during public meetings and, in some cases, adding features to their meeting rooms meant to protect officials from gunfire. Albuquerque, N.M., is one of numerous cities that have lined their meeting room daises with bulletproof material, providing a chance for City Council members to duck out of harm's way should a shooting break out. The Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County, Calif., spent $77,000 to create what the local media referred to as a "panic room" behind its meeting chamber. (A county spokeswoman described it as a reinforced conference room, without offering details.) Officials with Bay District Schools in Panama City, Fla., decided to add a bulletproof dais and an armed sheriff's deputy after a disturbed man showed up at 2010 board meeting with a gun. He fired several times at Superintendent Bill Husfelt and several board members as they dropped behind their plywood dais, missing them, before being shot by the district's security chief and taking his own life. "I feel safer now than I did before, but I think it's a mental thing we did mainly for our employees," Husfelt said. Barbara A. Nadel, a New York architect who writes frequently about building security, said new features alone aren't enough to ensure safety in public buildings. She cited a 2003 incident in New York City in which a gunman evaded a metal detector by entering City Hall with a councilman who didn't have to pass through security. The gunman, a political opponent of the councilman, shot him dead in the council chamber before being killed by a police officer. "We can put in all kinds of bells and whistles, but if people aren't following policies and procedures, security can be breached," Nadel said. The security changes at Elgin's City Hall come as the growing suburb — its population is now about 109,000 — is poised to add two seats to its City Council after the April municipal election. The council now has six seats, plus the mayor. City officials said the expanding council prompted a remodeling plan, budgeted at $374,000, and security quickly became part of the discussion. Mayor David Kaptain said last month's mass school shooting in Newtown, Conn., did not affect the city's plan, which had been under discussion for more than a year. Although police recently reported that Elgin's crime is at a 40-year low, the city best known for its Grand Victoria Casino has had its share of violence compared with other suburbs. City Council meetings often draw a crowd, and sometimes a heated discussion. City Hall has kept a metal detector at the entrance to the council chambers, but visitors have only had to pass through it when the room hosts satellite sessions for the Kane County court. It hasn't been used for council meetings, but the city now plans to put it at the building's front entrance so all visitors are screened. As for bulletproofing, the council chamber's dais already has a single panel that protects the spot where the judge (or mayor) sits. The city's plan calls for outfitting the entire dais with similar material. City Manager Sean Stegall said Elgin tried to strike a balance between security and open government; that's why no one considered topping the dais with bulletproof glass, he said. But he added that installing more bulletproof panels is a wise precaution should anyone get past the metal detector with a weapon. Council members would be the likely target in such a scenario, he said. Other features to be added include panic buttons for each council member that, when pressed, would alert a police dispatcher to trouble. City Hall also will get new security cameras in the council chamber, the lobby and stairwells. The city also plans to upgrade its audiovisual equipment and audience seating. Stegall said that is meant to make for better viewing of council meetings, whether in person or via the local cable TV access channel. kthayer@tribune.com jkeilman@tribune.com |