Quigley, Durbin Hear from Victims of Urban Flooding

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met at the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) with Chicago residents whose homes or businesses have flooded as a result of urban flooding and discussed their bicameral Urban Flooding Awareness Act. Their legislation is designed to address increased flooding in urban communities and to find solutions for the urban communities impacted.

"It is clear from the stories Senator Durbin and I heard today that urban flooding is impacting homeowners and businesses across the Chicago region," said Rep. Quigley. "As we experience more severe storms, this problem will only continue to grow. We need real information to understand the pervasiveness of urban flooding so we can find solutions not just in Chicago, but across the country. I appreciate all of the work being done at CNT, by MWRD, and at IDNR to help address urban flooding. Moving forward, I will continue to work with Senator Durbin and my colleagues in D.C. to bring greater attention to this issue, and do all we can to move the Urban Flooding Awareness Act forward in Congress."

"For many homes in urban areas, just a few inches of rain can cause thousands of dollars in damages," said Senator Durbin. "The truth of the matter is, we don't have very much data on frequency, severity, or how we might better prepare for the kind of weather that turns into flooded streets, businesses and homes. The legislation Representative Quigley and I introduced earlier this year will remedy that by helping experts understand the scope of the problem and develop solutions. With the frequency and severity of storms growing year by year, we need to gain a better understanding of flooding in our cities."

"The implications of the research for disaster preparedness across the nation are enormous," said Kathryn Tholin, CEO of the non-profit CNT. "We have for decades been spending billions of taxpayer dollars to solve only one part of the flood damage problem. With this new information, we can invest our resources in a way that protects a much larger group of flood victims."

Along with those who have been affected by urban flooding, the discussion was attended by Kathryn Tholin, CEO of the Center for Neighborhood Technology; Mick Cosme and Joe Kratzer, Storm Water Managers for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD); and Brian Eber, Northeast Illinois Floodplain Program Coordinator for Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

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