Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - FEMA Public Assistance for Disaster Damage in Illinois

Letter

February 7, 2014

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

We write in support of Illinois' appeal of the denial of the State's request for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance for nine Illinois counties severely damaged by tornadoes, high winds, and heavy storms on November 17, 2013. Illinois received a major disaster declaration for the event and Individual Assistance was authorized for 15 counties on November 26th. On January 9th, however, the State learned its request for Public Assistance was denied. We request reconsideration of that determination based on additional damage information made available since the State's first request.

Specifically, the disaster recovery costs have increased more than $7 million since the first round of Preliminary Damage Assessments were conducted after the disaster. Illinois estimates there are $21,450,443 in Public Assistance costs. This exceeds the per capita total for Illinois, which is $17.8 million. Federal Public Assistance is needed in Champaign, Douglas, Grundy, Massac, Tazewell, Vermilion, Washington, Wayne, and Woodford Counties to help pay for debris removal, repair of damage to public water systems, and to help pay for the day-to-day operations during recovery from the event.

Twenty-five tornadoes touched down in Illinois that day, killing six people in our state and destroying or severely damaging 1,000 homes. The State has dedicated significant resources to the response and recovery effort, but federal help is needed.

We respectfully request that you reconsider the State of Illinois' request for Public Assistance for this weather event. We thank you in advance for your timely consideration of this important request and stand ready to assist in any way appropriate.