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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Debut ICS-300: Intermediate ICS course here at Argonne

Posted on September 23, 2025 by rusnivek

First times the charm!

Welcome to the first ICS-300 class here at Argonne!

Introductions by our Division Director Mike P.

Proud to have participants from across the state attending. And for the first time at Argonne, we are super excited to see participants from local, county, state, and Federal agencies here.

That truly speaks to the collaborative nature of safety efforts for everyone.

Also happy to see IEMA-OHS Region-3 Regional Coordinator Lisa with us this morning too.

IEMA-OHS Region-3 covers all the greater Chicagoland suburbs and towns, but they do border Argonne so we mainly work closely with Region-4 and Region-3.

Proud to have Maria P. on my staff with me as we are fully capable and vetted to teach ICS classes.

And yes, if you were wondering, I’ve known Lisa and Maria well before I worked for the state.

Day-1 and we’re already putting everyone to work as we try to get everyone on the same page and same S.M.A.R.T. objectives.

Sometimes, these classes get drab esp if we only lecture so we almost immediately get everyone doing group work to foster more ideas.

This all-hazards approach to planning and solutions make it easier to digest the materials esp the tedious ones.

Proud to bring these courses to Argonne and proud of the partnerships many have already build here. I see fit to continue to empower all of our bestest partners in safety.

Look, I’ve only been here for 5 months, but the plans are starting to come together. #ArgonneEM

Reporting live from the Argonne Analytic Cell/EOC2…

@rusnivek

Sat phone partay!

Posted on August 25, 2025 by rusnivek

Our 4th satellite phone came in today. Like gremlins, they are multiplying!

This Continuity of OPerations (COOP) effort is a phased plan that is imperative to everyone here.

It’s just another part of our COOP plan as Emergency Management leads the way for planning and coordination.

Think of it this way, it’s part of business continuity.

At any time, we have staff/SMEs around the world doing critical work. And we need instant communications with them and our global Exfil team that can deploy out immediately in an emergency.

In the near future, look to Argonne EM to lead the COOP effort for the area by providing high level training with our partners at FEMA.

Funny part, we are calling that part “Operation Kevins”

Reporting live from Sat phone stable…

@rusnivek

2025 Big City Emergency Manager program with our IEMA-OHS Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau

Posted on January 26, 2025 by rusnivek

Starting out the morning with all the Big City Emergency Managers at Chicago OEMC’s Emergency Operations Center.

First up, IEMA-OHS Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau.

Sharing the challenges of Emergency Management and focusing in on statewide issues. Overcoming challenges and strengthening Federal relationships is key especially in the first few hours of a disaster.

Initial response will dictate the disaster tempo. If your tempo is off and your battle rhythm is askew, you will likely become another disaster. So please make sure your efforts are coordinated.

Diving deep into overcoming resources challenges early on so that we can serve our diverse communities.

Special thanks to all the rising stars in the 2025 Big City Emergency Managers Program.

@rusnivek

Your 2024 Democratic National Convention Joint Information Center team!

Posted on July 24, 2024 by rusnivek

I am honored to lead this Joint Information Center (JIC) with the US Secret Service.

I am incredibly thankful for everyone who participated with us from local, county, state, and Federal partners. Welcome to Illinois and the City of Chicago!

2024 Democratic National Convention Joint Information Center

Lots of dangers with these types of National Special Security Events (NSSEs), but through a well coordinated system with highly trained individuals,

Trust me, it took many months of introductions, planning, networking, scheduling, coordinating, and of course collaborating with our most trusted partners from across the country.

I’ve said it before, but it takes a certain skillset to be the agency’s PIO. No day is ever alike.

And no incident or event will ever be the same. Nothing is ever the same.

Proud of the work that was done this week to keep everyone safe.

Reporting live from the 2024 DNC’s Joint Information Center…

@rusnivek

PIO spot in the State EOC

Posted on January 12, 2022 by rusnivek

Getting acclimated into the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC).

Finding my position in the upper tier.

Reporting live from Springfield…

@rusnivek

Drive through testing for Coronavirus #COVID19

Posted on March 21, 2020 by rusnivek

Rolling in on a Saturday to the EOC….

Wait a sec…WAIT A SEC….

Did one of our partners get their drive through testing station up and running already?

PIO to SITL: How do copy?

Man, the news is going to be all over this one…

@rusnivek

Site visit ending up at AFD Station-8

Posted on February 3, 2020 by rusnivek

Is it kinda like the elephant march when we line up ambulances outside?

Overcast dreary morning as we continue to support our public safety pros in the field 24/7. No rest for the weary!

But after Chicago, I was able to switch out to Aurora Station-8 as we discuss some ongoing issues and see how we can creatively explore more training/exercises to increase partnerships/coordination.

Lots of discussion on our ongoing FEMA Emergency Management Basic Academy as we continue to share the good that the DuPage County OHSEM does for all partners.

Sometimes it’s difficult for people to understand that Emergency Management is a different field than 30 years in the fire service or 30 years at the police department or 30 years working at an EMS service. Definitely not the same.

So in that same vein, we need to tailor our classes and exercises to address the all-hazards approach and address all partners.

We are fortunate that our classes are geared to hit all 15 Federal Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) in accordance with national plans. Our guidance is clear as we align with national doctrine, state grants/guidance, and local response plans to coordinate and execute any needed response plans.

The crux is that Emergency Management in the EOC will be the coordinating entity during any emergency or disaster. Period.

In order for locals to execute, State to manage, and Federal to assist and support, we need to have a firm understanding of what happens every step of the way. I am proud of my staff for taking the time to see these things through and explore options for our public safety pros.

No doubt, these are the kinds of things that make our EM stronger and solid at supporting our peeps 24/7/365. We in Emergency Management must continue to build a rock solid collaborative effort with our key players so that when we need to exercise or execute, we can do it seamlessly.

Special thanks to the men and women at the Aurora Fire Station 8 for their warm hospitality. Looking forward to seeing all of you in class and future exercises.

Reporting live from the bay floors between Truck-6 and Engine-99…I mean Engine-8…

@rusnivek

Morning briefing in the EOC with IL USAR TaskForce-1.

Posted on January 30, 2020 by rusnivek

Morning briefing in the EOC with the State of Illinois USAR TaskForce-1.

Special thanks to OTFPD Chief Ralph DeLucca on providing information on their response as well as their resources.

It is imperative that Emergency Managers continually learn about teams and resources from their jurisdictions. In crisis, there will be no time to forge these relationships. Your interactions will be judged on how seamless your operations and rollout goes.

Experience will show itself in seconds. In order to call the shots, you have to talk the talk and have to have walked the walk.

Trust me, people are watching.

And judging.

Reporting live from the EOC this morning….

@rusnivek

FEMA OEMA JIC/JIS Course today

Posted on January 23, 2020 by rusnivek

Starting out the day with the FEMA OEMA G0291: JIC/JIS course.

So glad to see Father Fire….I mean Chief Warner….I mean Captain Warner here at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

While wearing a different hat, we can confidently say that no matter what uniform we wear, our efforts to protect our community goes beyond just the normal 8-5 job. It truly is a calling for public safety pros to serve their community.

While in module-3, we had a reporter from Cleveland-19 Action News WOIO show up here to do an interview with one of our participants in the class – the Lake County (Ohio) Sheriff Frank Leonbruno.

Solid, poised…

…and deliberate words for the current situation. Well done Sheriff!

Fortunately, Cleveland 19 News Reporter Kendall Forward and Videographer Marty DeChant had a few minutes to spare as they were kind enough to share their thoughts on PIO interactions with public safety PIOs.

(L to R): Kendall Forward, Steve Bosso, Kevin Sur, and Marty DeChant

And since I had them with us, I had to ask my favorite question: On the record? Is that really true?

The afternoon provided us the opportunity to bring everyone together in the JIC scenario and collaboration with all attendees. This class addresses various participants but making it all work is the hallmark of Phil Politano’s vision – all culminating in the joint press conference.

Shout out to all participants in this week’s class. Proud of the work you’ve done as well as the contributions to your community.

Welcome to the world of PIO!

More importantly, I am glad to see so many familiar faces this week.Seeing all of you leading your respective departments is inspiring as I truly can say “I knew you when…”

Go forth and Tweet good stuff!

@rusnivek

Day-2 of the FEMA Basic PIO Course here in KY

Posted on June 26, 2019 by rusnivek

Day-2 of the FEMA Basic Public Information Officer Course here.

Glad to finally meet Lexington Fire Capt Jessica Bowman who is also one of the FEMA Master PIOs.

Great day to share some of the tools we use as PIOs. Here’s Sherelle and John talking about the importance and fashionable safety vests are for officials onscene.

Additionally, we discussed media being well visible as their safety is incredibly important. We can’t have our friends in the news business get hurt or become part of the incident.

And trust me, the more people who get injured in an incident, the more paperwork we all have to fill out….so be safe!

As usual, we had a very seasoned media panel from WLEX18 Bill Wilcox and Herald Leader Peter Baniak. Many thanks to both news organizations to spend time out of their busy schedule to spend with PIOs from across the state.

With all Basic PIO classes, we talk about the ability and flexibility for PIOs to do field reporting. Often times, reporters can’t get to a scene because of traffic or lack of staffing. Either way, we as government PIOs can help them out by packaging information they need from the scene. The tools needed to produce this kind of info is fairly easy to get, however the challenge is to put them into play.

By sharing the tactics and tools in class, I am able to improve the skills of any PIO by enhancing their ability to share solid timely and TRUSTED information with any of the targeted audiences.

As PIOs, we are beholden to so many audiences.

Public
Media
Leadership
Our internal teams.

At times, our job seems easy however once you dive into it, you can see the complexities of our efforts.

Don’t worry, we reviewed all mock on camera interviews. Tackled key concepts like redirects as well as some tips on how to give more positive non-verbals while being interviewed during crisis.

Super fun day with everyone. Lots of contributions from our partners from Fire, EMS, Police, Emergency Management, Energy, Coroner’s Office, Higher Education, Search and Rescue.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s FEMA JIC/JIS course!

Reporting live from the EOC….

@rusnviek