EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois Warehouse Safety Standards Task Force was formed earlier this year. It was created in response to the deadly tornado that killed six people in December 2021 at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville.
On Dec. 11, 2021, Carla Cope’s family was changed forever. Her son, Clayton, was one of six people killed when an EF-3 tornado struck the 650,000 square-foot building. On Tuesday, Carla addressed the Illinois Warehouse Safety Standards Task Force during its first meeting on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus.
“I hope our participation is helpful to the task force. We’d like to stay involved as much as we can to help things move forward,” she said. “It’s very important for us after losing our son that no one else loses theirs.”
The task force includes members from labor unions, organizations representing warehouse workers, manufacturers, retail merchants and local and state politicians. Among them, Illinois State Representative Katie Stuart.
“Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is prevent future tragedy, and I think that’s really important for us to remember,” she said. “This task force is about real human lives and the effect that things have on us every day.”
Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford discussed the search, rescue, and recovery efforts of first responders at the warehouse site. He also recommended the task force encourage the state to invest in the statewide mutual aid response system.
“My second recommendation is to lobby building code bodies, including the International Code Council, to expand storm shelter requirements for large buildings, buildings with at-risk populations, and buildings that are densely populated,” he said.
“We’re going to keep working as hard as we can to keep things moving along, and hopefully, we’ll get some results and we can change some things for everyone else.” Cope said, adding that efforts like this will keep the memories of her son and the other victims alive.
A family forever changed, doing its part to bring change. And trusting this task force to help them achieve it.