Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security Awards Over $2.7 Million for Urban Area Security Initiative Projects

Wed, 01/17/2024 - 12:00

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle along with the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security (EMRS) today announced the recipients of 17 grants to fund projects under the 2023 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program. A total of $2,736,542 will be distributed across local fire and police departments as well as other public safety partners.

EMRS is responsible for administering public safety and homeland security-related grant programs to strengthen the County’s resilience in the face of significant, human-caused or natural threats and hazards. One of the most significant grant programs administered by EMRS is UASI, a component of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Homeland Security Grant Program. UASI is designed to assist high-threat, high density urban areas in building, sustaining and delivering capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from acts of terrorism.

“It is a priority of my administration to have resilient and safe communities for all residents in Cook County,” said President Preckwinkle. “These grants are strategic and targeted investments to equip our public safety partners to reduce risk for our residents.”

The amount of available UASI funding varies each year. EMRS assesses potential projects for consideration by distributing a Notice of Funding Interest (NOFI) to local jurisdictions and public safety partners. Compiling responses to this NOFI provides EMRS with the general scope of UASI needs in suburban Cook County communities outside the City of Chicago.

EMRS evaluated applications submitted by local public safety partners based on FY23 U.S. Department of Homeland Security priorities: