FEMA Denies Illinois' Major Disaster Declaration Request for August Storms; Pritzker Vows Appeal
CHICAGO — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has officially denied the State of Illinois' request for a major disaster declaration following severe storms this August. Gov. JB Pritzker said the state will appeal the decision.
In a letter dated Oct. 7, FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton stated that assistance for the affected counties was "not warranted," according to the state. Illinois had requested individual and public assistance for eight counties — Champaign, Cook, Ford, Fulton, McLean, Tazewell, Vermilion and Will — after a massive storm system brought severe storms, a derecho, flooding and tornadoes across the state in August, causing extensive property and infrastructure damage, power outages and flooding.
"Our communities are still picking up the pieces from the destruction caused by severe weather this summer. Donald Trump should never play politics with their homes, businesses, and infrastructure," Pritzker said. "When a massive storm system crosses state lines, the resulting damage should be evaluated fairly, consistently and based on the same objective standards and criteria, regardless of which state it impacts. Illinois will continue to explore every available option to help our communities recover and the survivors rebuild their lives after devastating storms."
After the storms, Pritzker issued a state disaster proclamation that made additional state resources available for response and recovery, including funding for impacted communities, additional personnel and equipment, and streamlined procurement. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS) and other state agencies were on the ground supporting local and county officials with damage assessments, debris cleanup, power restoration and mutual aid assistance.
Given the extent of the damage, the state said it will appeal FEMA's denial. A major disaster declaration would unlock federal individual assistance to help residents repair homes and public assistance to reimburse local governments' emergency and rebuilding costs; the denial keeps those federal funding channels closed for now, shifting more of the recovery burden onto state and local budgets.
The cross-state footprint of the storm and the dispute over federal damage-assessment standards are expected to be the next flashpoint between Illinois and the federal government.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Robert Lawton 摄，CC BY-SA 2.5（Wikimedia Commons）
