The Illinois task force focused on warehouse safety, following a deadly 2021 tornado in Edwardsville, is recommending that the state require tornado storm shelters.
The 16-member committee of state lawmakers, a local mayor and representatives from industries and trade groups made preliminary recommendations on Tuesday, which still need to be finalized before the end of the year. From there, the group’s final report will be submitted to the Illinois General Assembly for consideration.
The recommendation for storm shelters would require that they be built specifically for tornadoes based on the size and occupancy of a warehouse. It would amend a section of the state’s International Building Code requirements.
“I don't like the idea of encouraging safety. I like the idea of requiring safety,” said state Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, who made the storm shelter recommendation. “We're talking about deaths that happened in my district, and I take that very seriously. So, I think to require safety is something that we should all want to do as a body.”
Edwardsville Mayor Art Risavy, also a member of the task force, seconded the recommendation.
Requiring storm shelters has been a focus for many in the area after the December 2021 tornado tore through an Amazon warehouse, killing six employees. Amazon officials could not immediately be reached for comment about the recommendations.
It was opposed by state Rep. Jeff Keicher, a Republican from just west of the Chicago area, and Alec Laird, a representative from the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. While they agree with Stuart about safety, they said having more stringent requirements could encourage businesses to build warehouses in border states.
“If we make it too onerous, we are not going to get to the point where people are safe,” Keicher said. “We're going to get to the point where companies are leaving the state of Illinois, instead of having job creators, private profit-making companies, locate in Illinois.”
In 2015, the Illinois General Assembly increased storm shelter protection for schools. Laird said fewer than 1% of schools are compliant with the law because of the cost and design considerations.
“Now, that doesn't mean that I'm necessarily against the suggestion,” Laird said. “It just shows that, in practice, it might be a little bit more difficult than might be conceived.”
Stuart, however, said a comparison between public schools and private companies isn’t a fair one because schools have to fight for tax dollars to make the changes.
“We are not talking about public entities in these warehouses,” Stuart said. “We are talking about private, profit-making corporations.”
The task force opted to recommend requiring storm shelters instead of pushing warehouses into a higher risk category, which would have required the buildings be designed to standards that could withstand stronger winds, for example.
“By focusing on the type of building and its occupancy and its use, you'll capture specific types of buildings as opposed to throwing a much broader blanket over it,” Bill Bracken, an engineer with the International Code Council, told the task force.
The committee will also recommend:
- The state continue to invest in the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, a statewide nonprofit response system that helps local fire departments and emergency responders coordinate with other agencies during a disaster.
- Site-specific emergency plans be required to be created for each warehouse location, including a section about tornado preparedness, and those plans must be shared with a local emergency response crew.
- Building code inspectors be required to get a statewide certification. The state should use the community college system to support the preparation of the next generation of these employees.
Jane Flanagan, the Illinois secretary of labor and chair of the task force, said that her agency will write recommendations into a final report and that the committee will tentatively plan to meet the third week of December for a final vote.
“I am encouraged by the progress the task force has made and the direction the recommendations are taking,” Risavy said. “I’m eager to review the final recommendations and wording that we’ll consider at our next meeting. It’s been a thoughtful and incredibly detailed process, as is appropriate given the tragedy that led to it.”
