Durbin, Kirk and Delegation Call on President to Provide Federal Relief for 74 Illinois Counties
[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) were joined by the entire Illinois Congressional Delegation late last night in requesting that President Obama declare 74 Illinois counties – affected by a severe winter storm and snowstorm that began on January 31, 2011, and continued through February 11, 2011 – federal disaster areas. A Presidential disaster declaration would allow cities and counties to apply for federal reimbursements to help pay for storm damage repairs.
“We write to support Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s request for a major disaster declaration for 74 counties in Illinois affected by a severe winter storm and snowstorm,” the Illinois members wrote. “What began on January 31 as a snow and freezing rain event in Illinois developed into a blizzard with many counties receiving record and near-record snowfall. As the severe winter weather conditions moved out of the state on February 3, frigid temperatures moved in and compounded the continued threat to public health and safety for nine days.”
Members signing on to today’s letter include Representatives Judy Biggert (R-IL), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Danny Davis (D-IL), Robert Dold (R-IL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Randy Hultgren (R-IL), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Tim Johnson (R-IL), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Don Manzullo (R-IL), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Peter Roskam (R-IL), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Bobby Schilling (R-IL) Aaron Schock (R-IL), John Shimkus (R-IL) and Joe Walsh (R-IL).
[Text of the letter is below]
March 1, 2011
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. President:
We write to support Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s request for a major disaster declaration for 74 counties in Illinois affected by a severe winter storm and snowstorm that began on January 31, 2011, and continued through February 11, 2011. Governor Quinn has already declared the state a disaster area.
What began on January 31 as a snow and freezing rain event in Illinois developed into a blizzard with many counties receiving record and near-record snowfall. As the severe winter weather conditions moved out of the state on February 3, frigid temperatures moved in and compounded the continued threat to public health and safety for nine days.
The Governor has determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and the affected local governments, and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary. Governor Quinn is specifically requesting Public Assistance, Snow Assistance, and Hazard Mitigation Assistance.
Public Assistance (all categories) is requested for 60 counties: Adams, Bond, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles, Cook, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jasper, Jo Daviess, Kane, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Menard, Mercer, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Pike, Putnam, Richland, Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Washington, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford. All the counties requested for Public Assistance have costs that were compiled during the preliminary damage assessment (PDA) that equal or exceed the county $3.27 per capita indicator established by FEMA as a factor for determining county eligibility in the event of a major disaster declaration.
Snow Assistance is requested for 43 counties: Adams, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Ford, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jo Daviess, Kane, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Menard, Mercer, Morgan, Ogle, Peoria, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford (all core counties) and Bureau County (a contiguous county). Adams, Boone, Brown, Ford, Henderson, Knox, McHenry, Menard and Scott counties experienced snowfall that exceeded their 1, 2 or 3-day record snowfall by at least 50 percent and therefore a 24-hour extension of the established 48-hour period for snow removal is requested for those 9 counties. All the counties requested for Snow Assistance have costs that were compiled during the PDA that equal or exceed the county $3.27 per capita indicator established by FEMA as a factor for determining county eligibility in the event of a major disaster declaration.
Hazard Mitigation Assistance is requested for all counties Statewide.
We respectfully request that you make the necessary declaration so that people in these counties can receive the assistance they need to remove debris and repair damage. We thank you in advance for your timely consideration of this important request and stand ready to assist in any way appropriate.
Sincerely,