Western Springs … A Nuclear Refuge for VIPs?

The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 brought the world to the edge of nuclear war. While tensions eased over the next ten years, planners were aware that this could change over time. As a result, new public buildings were often constructed with civil defense in mind.

In the case of Western Springs, an emergency operation center was included in the original plans for the village hall.  See second picture. 

Completed in 1970, the room was 21 feet wide by 68 feet long. It could serve as both a shelter and an auxiliary communications room in the event of a nuclear attack or other disaster. It was described as being radiation-proof and capable of housing upwards of 100 people with food and water supplies sufficient for two weeks. But, the big question was, who would be admitted?  See third photo.

In a 1978 newspaper article, a former village manager acknowledged the existence of the facility and stated that “Western Springs comes first.”

But, this did not mean the general population. Instead, because of its relatively small size, access to the shelter would be limited to just certain village officials and their immediate families: the village president, six trustees, village manager, and coordinators for emergency services, public information, fire rescue, law enforcement, medical services, public works, shelter management, military liaison, and radiological issues.

In addition, it was reported that armed guards would be posted at the entrances to ensure no one else entered. As expected, this prompted some unfavorable responses from the “excluded” citizenry.   

When completed, the center was one of only six federally certified facilities of its type in Cook County. As a result, the City of Chicago wrote to the village concerning its possible use by Mayor Michael Bilandic in the event of a nuclear attack or similar disaster. And, although no formal agreement was put in place, at least one Chicago newspaper, as well as a television station, reported that such an arrangement had been agreed upon. After that, the rumor mill took over. See fourth photo.

For a number of years, the center was also on the Secret Service’s list of possible refuge sites whenever the president (first Carter and then Reagan) was in the Chicago area. In fact, Secret Service personnel reportedly visited the village hall prior to each presidential visit to Chicago, just to make sure things were in order. Fortunately, it was never necessary for either of them to use the shelter. See fifth photo.  

But what became of the bomb shelter? With the decline in cold-war tensions, the space was eventually re-purposed into office space for the Public Works Department. Similarly, the police shooting range, also shown in the second photo, was converted into office space for the police and other departments.