Chicago May Update Emergency Plans In Wake Of Boston Terror Attack

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Emanuel says Chicago may revise its emergency medical plans in light of Boston's response to the Boston Marathon bombings a week ago, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore .

Mayor Emanuel says special circumstances not withstanding, Boston showed it was well-prepared to face a crisis when those bombs went off.

"Now not every time are you going to have an incident where you have medical care on-site because they had a marathon they had it on-site. That clearly saved lives. But having a well-rehearsed, well-planned, well thought out medical emergency response, was crucial in saving lives. We have a very good plan. We did it for NATO exercise. I have asked everybody to go back and look at it," said Emanuel.

And he says after Boston authorities review their response, Chicago will see about updating its emergency plan.

Boston, the mayor added, was aided in its response by all the medical personnel on standby for health issues during the marathon itself. That abundance of medical help was similar to Chicago's own heat-plagued marathon in 2007, when one runner died and dozens were hospitalized on the hottest Oct. 7 ever.

The race was eventually stopped, just like in Boston. Authorities cared for the injured and began their search for suspects -- suspects who allegedly turned out not what we expected.

"Since 911 and since the war in Afhganistan and Iraq, we've gone and we've kind of put a hurting on al Qaeda overseas," Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Monday. "Our biggest fear in law enforcement, our biggest concern, is the home-grown terrorist."

The two Illinois cases he referred to were the plot to detonate a car bomb outside a South Loop bar last September, and the Friday night arrest at O'Hare of a suspect allegedly on his way to join al Qaeda.

McCarthy said he was following last week's investigation in Boston to make sure there were no threats here.

"I was getting twice-a-day briefings from the FBI," he said.