WHERE IS IEMA?

3:49 pm, 11/19/05

WHERE IS IEMA?
An email from an anonymous juror back home in Williamson County claims that when the tornado warning came down Tuesday, the Williamson County Courthouse kicked the jurors out into the street and told them to drive home because the judges and State's Attorney wanted to go home, too. (This is a clear violation of the #1 rule of tornado safety: You do not attempt to cruise around in your car during a tornado warning.) One juror, driving home in sheet rain through which they could not see, found Route 13 (right along where the storm passed over) blocked off by an Illinois Department of Transportation truck due to flooding.

Apparently, the courthouse has no disaster plan, and a telephone investigation by angry jurors and the Franklin County reporter for the Southern Illinoisan revealed that the courthouse later claimed they could've stayed since the whole courthouse wasn't closed, that they had no disaster plan, that they once tried to put one together but gave up, that they thought that they had no basement (Marion policemen disagree), and that they didn't know who was in charge (the Sheriff). Some jurors may intend to tell the judges that they're angry with the court for endangering their lives and are too biased against the State to serve on a jury.

Yeah, combined with Governor Blagojevich's sterling leadership qualities, this is making me feel lots better about the aftermath of a potential New Madrid earthquake.