Governor Secures State
Resources After Denial of FEMA Funding Appeal; Aid Will Help Local Governments
Recover
SPRINGFIELD – Following
federal denial of urgently-needed disaster assistance, Governor Pat Quinn today
announced a $45 million state relief package to help Illinois local governments
recover from the deadly November tornadoes. This assistance was assembled at
the Governor's direction following the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) denial of the state's appeal for federal disaster assistance for local
governments.
The relief package will
provide much-needed aid for impacted municipalities, including Washington,
Brookport, Gifford, New Minden, Diamond, Coal City and East Peoria. All local
governments in the nine counties impacted by the historic tornadoes will be
eligible for assistance. The counties are: Champaign, Douglas, Grundy, Massac,
Tazewell, Vermilion, Washington, Wayne and Woodford.
“Our tornado-ravaged
communities need help and they need it now,” Governor Quinn said. “While it's disappointing
that our request for federal disaster relief was denied due to outdated rules,
the state of Illinois is committed to providing assistance to communities that
need it. Recovery won't happen overnight but this aid will help people rebuild
their lives."
The state's multi-agency
relief package for local governments includes assistance from the Illinois
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the Illinois Department
of Transportation (IDOT), the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA), the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency (IEPA) and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA).
DCEO will provide up to
$19.1 million in state and federal funds to be used toward disaster recovery. These
commitments include:
1.
Up to $10 million in state funds to local governments to rebuild
tornado-damaged infrastructure.
2.
Approximately $4.5 million of the agency’s Community Development
Assistance Program allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) will be directed toward housing repair and reconstruction for
low-income residents.
3.
An additional $3.6 million is expected from HUD this summer to
address unmet housing needs from communities impacted by last spring’s flooding
or November’s tornadoes.
4.
The DCEO Office of Employment and Training will supply up to $1
million in Rapid Response funding which will provide paid work experience to
individuals to assist with disaster cleanup and recovery efforts – $138,875 of
these funds are already being used for this purpose in Brookport.
5.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and
Weatherization funds are available to eligible recipients for a variety of
storm-related issues including temporary shelter, transportation, utility
reconnection, heating and air conditioning replacement, coats and blankets,
insulation repair, generators, re-weatherization of damaged homes and technical
assistance. The amount of funding available will depend on the number of
eligible LIHEAP and weatherization households seeking assistance.
IDOT will provide up to
$10 million for communities to repair storm-damaged infrastructure. IDOT
continues to work with communities to identify eligible transportation
infrastructure needs.
IFA, the state’s
infrastructure bank, will immediately make available up to $4.5 million in
below-market rate loans to finance repairs constituting capital expenditures to
publicly owned and operated facilities that sustained damage in the tornadoes,
not otherwise covered by insurance. Due to the legal and credit requirements of
each individual project, the IFA will work through the Governor’s Response Team
with individual local governments in the tornado-ravaged communities.
IEMA will provide $3.55
million to help municipalities pay for costs already incurred for items such as
debris removal, emergency protective measures and overtime payments. This
assistance comes from state General Revenue Funds.
IEPA will set aside up
to $5.35 million in low-interest loans through the Illinois Clean Water
Initiative to repair damaged water systems in impacted communities.
IHDA will provide $2.5
million in emergency rehabilitation assistance to approximately 50 low-income
households affected by the severe storms. Eligible homeowners will receive up
to $40,000 in assistance to pay insurance deductibles or provide home repairs.
The assistance comes from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
For information on how
local government can benefit from the relief package, please visit Ready.Illinois.gov.
The Governor recently
addressed the National Journal’s Disaster Forum in Washington, D.C. to push for
needed changes to the FEMA disaster aid criteria. The Governor is working with U.S.
Senator Dick Durbin and Illinois’ congressional delegation to pass legislation
that would give FEMA a clearer, more substantive formula when evaluating
natural disasters. It will modify a flawed system that places small and rural
communities in highly populated states at a disadvantage in the federal
disaster declaration process. The bill assigns a specific weight to each of the
factors already used by FEMA and adds other economic factors for the agency to
consider when determining whether or not an area should receive federal
assistance.
“FEMA has gotten it
wrong in Illinois not once but twice,” Senator Durbin said. “The federal
government can’t be expected to help after every weather event, but the damage
I saw in Central Illinois convinced me that we need to be doing
more. Senator Kirk and I have a bill—introduced in the House by members of
the Illinois Congressional Delegation—that would fix FEMA’s funding formulas so
communities in downstate Illinois are no longer at a disadvantage when disaster
strikes. I am encouraged by Governor Quinn’s commitment today to help make
these communities whole again and will be working with my colleagues to advance
the Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act and identify any additional
federal funding opportunities.”
Shortly after the deadly
storms on Nov. 17, 2013, Governor Quinn surveyed the damaged areas and
activated the State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the deployment of
state resources and personnel in support of local response and recovery efforts.
While federal assistance for local governments has been denied, just nine days
after the storms the Governor successfully secured federal aid for families and
businesses in 15 counties which has topped $23.5 million, including FEMA grants
of more than $2.6 million and $21 million in low-interest loans from the U.S.
Small Business Administration.
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