SUBSTITUTE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, terrorism has been a singularly powerful thief of peace and security in our time; and
WHEREAS, the world has responded to large scale efforts such as plane hijackings and devastating bombings with corresponding comprehensive precautions; and
WHEREAS, we now see groups and individuals resorting to the use of seemingly innocuous tools to carry out their terrorist acts; and
WHEREAS, notably, readily available motor vehicles have been weaponized to devastating effects; and
WHEREAS, the New York Times reported that a propaganda magazine of the terror group ISIS "called vehicles one of the 'safest and easiest weapons one could employ' to carry out a lethal attack;" and
WHEREAS, this efficacy has unfortunately been proven far too many times; and
WHEREAS, on October 31, 2017 a terrorist drove on to a bike path in New York City's Lower Manhattan neighborhood, leaving eight (8) people dead and at least twelve (12) injured; and
WHEREAS, on August 17, 2017, terrorists drove a van on to Las Ramblas, the famed pedestrian walkway in Barcelona, Spain, killing at least thirteen (13) and injuring one hundred and thirty (130) more; and
WHEREAS, at an August 12, 2017 white nationalist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, a man drove a car into a crowd of counter protestors, killing a thirty-two year old woman and injuring nineteen (19) people; and
WHEREAS, on August 9, 2017, a terrorist targeted a group of soldiers in a suburb of Paris, France, injuring six (6); and
WHEREAS, on June 3,2017, terrorists drove onto a London bridge sidewalk ultimately killing eight (8) and injuring forty eight (48); and
WHEREAS, earlier that year in London, on March 22, another terrorist drove onto Westminster Bridge, killing four (4) pedestrians before running on foot and stabbing an unarmed police officer; and
WHEREAS, on April 7,2017, a hijacked truck was used to drive into a group of shoppers in Stockholm, Sweden, ultimately killing five (5); and
WHEREAS, on July 14, 2016, a terrorist drove a tractor trailer into a Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France, and killed eighty-six (86) people; and
WHEREAS, on December 19,2016, a hijacked truck was used to kill twelve (12) people in a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany; and
WHEREAS, responding to this specific type of threat and to protect pedestrian passage ways from cars, New York and the cities of Las Vegas and New Orleans are taking precautions that include the installation of barriers and posts; and
WHEREAS, according to a November 2017 Wall Street Journal report on vehicle attacks, recommendations from groups such as fusion centers (collaborations of public and private agencies in various areas of the country that evaluate and coordinate terror threat information and responses) include establishing guidelines for reporting suspicious vehicle rentals to police and asking police about stolen "heavy-duty" vehicles in the vicinity of large gatherings; and
WHEREAS, in other instances, authorities have "blockaded" large group gatherings with sizeable trucks from their own fleets; and
WHEREAS, vehicular terrorism depends on unsuspecting targets and counts with readily accessible weaponry; and
WHEREAS, these elements complicate preventative efforts, which therefore require expertise from a broad range of sources and sectors; and
WHEREAS, this City Council is entrusted with securing the safety and enjoyment of individuals in the public way and at public events; and
WHEREAS, it further appreciates that discretion is a hallmark of effective counter-terrorism efforts; and
WHEREAS, the members of this City Council nonetheless seek to ensure that the City of Chicago has a considered and comprehensive plan specific to the threat of vehicular terrorism; and
WHEREAS, said plan is to consider elements such as the size, location, and access and egress points of large public gatherings and heavily trafficked pedestrian areas; and
WHEREAS, the City's vehicular terrorism response plan should also contemplate the types of vehicles that are likely to be used in these instances, the manner in which they can be obtained, and the circumstances and methods through which information regarding instances fitting these characteristics should be communicated; and
WHEREAS, recent months are rife with tragic examples of how no city, no landmark, and no event is safe from this type of threat; and
WHEREAS, it is the City Council's objective that, with respect to these acts of terror, the City of Chicago always hold true to "never here," and forsake the need for a "never again;" now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
SECTION 1. The City Council hereby calls upon pertinent City officials, departments, and sister agencies to assemble a Chicago Vehicular Terrorism Task Force. The Task Force shall be called to order by the Chicago Police Department and other members shall include the respective Chairmen of the City Council Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, Committee on Public Safety, Committee on Transportation and the Public Way, Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and Committee on Finance. Other members shall include a designee of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, a designee of the Department of Transportation, a designee of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and two appointees designated by the Mayor. The Task Force shall additionally consult with the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Transit Authority, and any such other department or sister agency as may inform its findings or implementation of those findings.
SECTION 2. The Task Force shall issue a Chicago Vehicular Terrorism Response Plan that shall address topics including but not limited to the following:
Locations and Events Analysis. The Task Force shall develop a procedure to survey City of Chicago locations and events and issue findings regarding the sufficiency of generally applicable existing requirements and recommended requirements regarding (i) size limitation of grounds and/or attendees, (ii) access points and means of egress, (iii) barrier or blockage points and methods, and (iv) public signage.
Communications. Evaluate existing communication flow among City agencies regarding terror threats, with plans to specifically incorporate vehicular terror threat reports. Specific consideration shall be made of a "terrorism tip line" available for reports from the general public.
Public Awareness. The Task Force shall evaluate the role and impact of awareness campaigns to educate the public and businesses such as vehicle rental companies on how to identify risk factors, how to report them, and how to react in circumstances of vehicular terrorism.
Edward M. Burke Alderman, 14th Ward
SECTION 3. The Task Force shall report its findings to the Committee on Finance within one hundred and twenty (120) days. Provided, however, that the Task Force and its individual participants shall not be obligated to report on measures when such public disclosure would jeopardize the counterterrorism or other law enforcement efforts of any local, state, or federal ^6yernmental agency.
Ariel E. Reboyras Alderman, 30th Ward
CHICAGO December 13,2017
To the President and Members of the City Council:
Your Committee on Finance having had under consideration
A proposed substitute resolution calling for pertinent City officials, departments, and sister agencies to assemble a Chicago Vehicular Terrorism Task Force.
R2017-911
Having had the same under advisement, begs leave to report and recommend that your Honorable Body pass the proposed Substitute Resolution Transmitted Herewith
This recommendation was concurred in by (awjva voce vote")
of members of the committee with dissenting vote(s).
Respectfully submitted|1010|(signed^ ^
Chairman