Park Ridge, IL- Local area fire chiefs and participating members of the statewide Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Division 1 presented an appreciation plaque to State Senator Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) recently for his ongoing support of disaster preparedness through mutual aid.  Local area fire chiefs from MABAS Division 1 are part of an intergovernmental cooperative called MABAS, which includes 68 divisions, nearly 1,100 fire agencies, and 38,000 firefighter/EMTs, whose mission is to share resources through a coordinate statewide plan in support of stricken member cities, towns and villages.

“If it wasn’t for the cooperative nature of Illinois’ Fire Service and the active and passive support of state officials including Senator Kotowski, MABAS would not be the premier statewide mutual aid and disaster response system that it is,” Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Ron Stewart said.  “MABAS works closely with our state agency partners including the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, the State Fire Marshal, Department of Public Health, and more through the Illinois Terrorism Task Force.  Senator Kotowski has effectively opened the door for real partnerships in disaster response with our colleagues from the State of Illinois.  Illinois Fire Service has become a national benchmark in mutual aid through MABAS.”

MABAS has been recognized by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, FEMA, and DHS as one of the national leaders of local mutual aid systems, producing one of the most prepared, practiced and comprehensive capabilities for cooperative coordinated disaster response throughout the United States.

“While I am humbled to receive this honor, this award should really be going to the firefighters of this great state, as they are the ones risking their lives on a daily basis to keep our families and our communities safe,” Kotowski said.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/8231621-418/memorial-unveiled-for-aa-flight-191.html

Abdon M. Pallasch

Thirty-two years after 273 people were killed in the worst commercial air crash in U.S. history, friends and loved ones of those who died on American Airlines Flight 191 got their memorial Saturday.

Sons, daughters and grandchildren brought sheets of paper to rub relief images of the 273 names inscribed on bricks in a Des Plaines park near the site of the crash on May 25, 1979.

It was the dogged efforts of a class of 6th-graders at Decatur Classical Elementary School in Chicago that made it happen.

Looking for a citizenship project to enter into the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s competition, they heard their assistant principal, Kimberly Jockl, talk about losing her parents in the crash and they seized upon a memorial.

They were undeterred when American Airlines sent them a letter encouraging them to “let it go.”

Eventually, they won the competition and convinced American Airlines to chip in $20,000 for the memorial.

“I think that society should take note of the relentless nature of 6th graders, and learn from them,” said attorney Tom Demetrio, who chaired the foundation and represented 30 of the families of those killed in the crash.

Many of the students, now 13 years old, spoke Saturday, as did U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan and State Sen. Dan Kotowski, (D-Park Ridge). Emergency personnel who responded to the accident 32 years ago were also on hand.

Associated Press

1:00 PM CDT, October 15, 2011

DES PLAINES, Ill.

More than 1,000 people were on hand Saturday as a memorial was unveiled near Chicago for the victims of the American Airlines Flight 191 crash, the deadliest airplane disaster not connected to terrorism in U.S. aviation history.

The May 25, 1979, crash of the DC-10 killed all 271 people aboard and two people on the ground.

The memorial in Lake Park in Des Plaines isn’t far from where the aircraft went down shortly after takeoff from O’Hare International Airport. The curved stone wall has all of the victims’ names. It was covered with flowers, cards and framed photos at the dedication ceremony.

A tearful Nancy Howell, whose mother Elaine was on board the flight, traveled from Knoxville, Tenn., for the ceremony.

“When I come here, what I think of is the crash,” Howell told the Chicago Tribune. “Now, I can think of something else.”

Students from the Decatur Classical Academy in Chicago worked for three years to have the memorial made. Kim Jockl, assistant principal of the school, and her sister Melody Smith of Arlington Heights lost their parents in the crash.

On the 25th anniversary of the crash, the sisters organized a memorial gathering at a chapel in O’Hare Airport’s Terminal 2.

State Sen. Dan Kotowski of Park Ridge and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston helped raise the $20,000 from American Airlines. The Des Plaines Park District erected the memoria

http://www.wgntv.com/wgntv-flight-191-memorial-oct15,0,7978098.story

Everyone on the plane and two people on the ground were killed.

Their names are engraved on a 75-foot curved stone wall in Lake Park, 1021 Touhy Avenue, near the crash site.

Organizers expect more than 1,000 people, including more than 120 families of victims at the dedication ceremony.

Students at The Decatur Classical Academy pushed for the memorial when they learned their assistant principal lost both her parents in the crash.

State Senator Dan Kotowski of Park Ridge worked with the school, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, the Des Plaines Park District and the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago to help make the memorial a reality.

The crash was the deadliest, non-terror-related airplane disaster in U.S. aviation history.