Jewish officials, Cook County in security training exercise

(JTA) — Chicago’s Jewish federation joined with Cook County in a security training session for local Jewish officials.

The session Wednesday, coordinated by the Secure Community Network, the security arm of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations, drew 60 officials from local Jewish organizations, including teachers, school administrators and lay leaders.

Under the direction of Michael Masters, the director of Cook County’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, police and first responders ran a “tabletop” exercise, in which participants run through a number of emergency scenarios and how they might play out.

“Exercises like this allow us to think through the challenges of an incident and allow us to work through and train for viable responses,” Masters said in a release.

SCN has run a number of similar “tabletops” in communities throughout the country in recent months.