Storms in Quincy, Illinois

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I have represented Quincy, IL, and Adams County since coming to Congress in 1983 as a Member of the House of Representatives. I have found that there is something special about the Gem City--its people, its strong sense of community, and the fighting spirit to tackle any crisis from floods to storms.

That spirit was tested this week.

I am relieved and thankful that there were no serious injuries or fatalities after a major storm tore through Quincy on Monday night. Torrential rain and winds up to 74 miles per hour felled trees, broke dozens of utility poles, and tore roofs off several homes and businesses during the event. The Quincy mayor declared a citywide state of emergency Monday evening and Adams County followed with a state of disaster declaration. Several people say the battered city looked like a warzone.

More than 21,000 people were without power on Monday night and Tuesday. Crews have worked around the clock to restore electricity to most. Due to the loss of power, many stoplights were out throughout the city. Between the outages, flooded streets, and streets made impassable by fallen trees, navigating Quincy has been a challenge.

The Quincy Park District estimates that the ``jaw dropping'' damage to the city's 29 parks--especially Madison and South Parks--far exceeds the devastation from severe storms in 2011 that costs the District more than $400,000. Caretakers at Woodland Cemetery discovered after the worst of the storm had passed that a 20-foot piece of a Civil War monument was toppled by the high winds and at least 35 trees were uprooted in the cemetery, many of which were more than a century old.

Dozens of Quincy residents checked into motels to escape the heat as they started the cleanup of their homes and properties without power. John Wood Community College and the Quincy Senior and Family Resources Center set up cooling centers to give people a place to take a break. The Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other local agencies have been on site to lend a helping hand.

I am grateful that Quincy fire chief Joe Henning, Adams County emergency management agency director John Simon, Quincy police chief Rob Copley, and many other elected officials and community leaders are leading cleanup and recovery efforts. Getting the city back on its feet and helping the people whose homes and businesses were damaged is a big job.

In today's Quincy Herald-Whig columnist Steve Eighinger said it best, ``It's going to be quite a while before things are back to what we consider normal, but we'll get there. We're Quincy. We pay it forward.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the column be printed in the Record.

In closing, I would like to commend the Quincy and Adams County community for pulling together to get through this storm and the aftermath. The cleanup is daunting, but the spirit endures. From the people of Hannibal and Macomb who have sent crews, trucks, and supplies to area residents who opened their homes and businesses to the displaced to the local businesses--grocery stores and gas stations--that have supplied free ice, water, and recharging stations, and done their best to restock basic supplies so residents can feed and care for their families to the Kroc Center and its supporters who have fed Quincyans. This has been a team effort.

I stand ready to support the local clean up and recovery efforts in Quincy and Adams County and will continue to keep community residents in my thoughts as they get the Gem City back up and running.

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