Durbin, Obama: Illinois Delegation Urges Swift Disaster Declaration for Remaining Three Counties

Durbin, Obama: Illinois Delegation Urges Swift Disaster Declaration for Remaining Three Counties

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) were joined by members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation today in asking President Bush to declare the remaining three Illinois counties - Cook, DuPage and McHenry - federal disaster areas after severe flooding storms hit the area earlier this month.

"As you continue to evaluate the request from Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for federal disaster assistance for the State of Illinois due to the severe storms and flooding that occurred August 20, 2007, through August 31, 2007, we respectfully request that you give strong consideration to Cook, DuPage, and McHenry Counties," the Illinois members wrote. "We respectfully request that you make the necessary declaration as soon as possible so that the residents of these counties can receive federal disaster assistance to help the thousands of homes and businesses continuing to recover from this natural disaster."

On September 14, Durbin, Obama and members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation asked President Bush to declare nine Illinois counties federal disaster areas after severe flooding storms hit the area earlier this month. The affected counties in northeastern Illinois included: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry, and Will. Late Tuesday evening, President Bush declared six of the nine Illinois counties - DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, LaSalle, Lake and Will - federal disaster areas.

Additional members who have signed on to the letter include: Representatives Judy Biggert (R-IL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Don Manzullo (R-IL), Peter Roskam (R-IL), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Danny Davis (D-IL), Melissa Bean (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL).

Text of the letter appears below:

September 27, 2007

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Bush:

As you continue to evaluate the request from Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for federal disaster assistance for the State of Illinois due to the severe storms and flooding that occurred August 20, 2007, through August 31, 2007, we respectfully request that you give strong consideration to Cook, DuPage, and McHenry Counties.

As you are aware, six counties in Illinois recently received major disaster declarations. However, Cook, DuPage, and McHenry Counties, included in the Governor's request, were excluded from the disaster declaration. In these three counties 1, 534 homes were affected by the storms, while 225 suffered minor damage and 39 suffered major damage. We respectfully request that you make the necessary declaration as soon as possible so that the residents of these counties can receive federal disaster assistance to help the thousands of homes and businesses continuing to recover from this natural disaster.

We look forward to hearing from you in the near future. Please let us know if we can provide additional information or be of assistance in any other way.

Sincerely,

Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator

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