Illinois School Safety Conference Set for New Location
- Chris Coffey
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
The 2026 Illinois School Safety Conference will be held October 7 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont as an opportunity for school personnel, law enforcement and public safety workers to learn from school safety and crisis prevention experts.
The annual conference is hosted by West40 and our partners from across the state. The event is free and is open to district and school administrators, police and fire departments, transportation directors, safety and emergency managers, educators, and all others interested.
School safety panels and featured speakers will take the stage during the conference to share their experiences with crisis management. There will also be a keynote speech on preventing cybercrime.
Sponsors will also have booths available to answer questions and demonstrate current, new and innovative methods to keep students and school staff members safe.
“West40 and the three other Regional Offices of Education who help sponsor the conference know how important this conference is to get the message out on school safety and security to the whole state of Illinois,” said Randy Braverman, conference organizer and West40 School Safety and Threat Assessment Specialist.
This year marks a change in venue for the annual conference, due in part to the growing attendance size. In recent years, attendance has hovered around 1,000 people.
The Village of Rosemont helped West40 secure the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center for the conference.
“It will allow us much more capacity for more attendees and vendors to come,” Braverman said.
Chicago Public Schools is one of the sponsors of this year’s conference.
Additional sponsors include the Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois School and Campus Safety Program, Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Kane County Regional Office of Education, Township High School District 211, Illinois School Resource Officers Association, Illinois State Police, School District 89 (Maywood, Melrose Park and Broadview), Joliet Police Department, Grundy/Kendall ROE 24, Summit School District 104, Illinois Association of School Business Officials, Ridgeland School District 122, Will County Regional Office of Education and the Village of Rosemont.