Dear Mr. President:
We write to support Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner's request for federal assistance for the State of Illinois to help 21 of the hardest-hit counties recover from severe flash and river flooding that began on December 23, 2015, and continued through January 13, 2016. Individual Assistance is requested for Alexander, Christian, Clinton, Douglas, Iroquois, Jersey, Madison, Randolph, Sangamon, and St. Clair counties. Public Assistance is requested for Alexander, Bureau, Calhoun, Cass, Cumberland, Jackson, Jersey, Madison, Menard, Monroe, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, Randolph, St. Clair, and Vermilion counties. Federal assistance is necessary to help these counties recover and rebuild from the large-scale flood damage.
As a result of torrential rainfall and winter storms, rivers in Illinois reached record-high levels and dangerous flooding occurred across the state. The Mississippi River at Thebes reached a crest level of 47.7 feet, which is the highest level reached on record. Preliminary Damage Assessments have determined that Illinois communities experienced significant uninsured losses and widespread property damage that totaled more than $15 million. While the state did not meet FEMA's population-based threshold of $18.1 million, all counties included in the state's request for federal assistance to local governments exceeded the required county threshold of $3.57 per capita. Additionally, communities experienced road closures, evacuations, power outages, and at least ten fatalities -- many of which were a result of flooded roadways.
Governor Rauner has determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and local governments. Supplemental federal assistance is necessary to help local governments in these counties recover up to 75 percent of their disaster-related expenses to clean up and rebuild.
We respectfully request that you approve our request for federal assistance so counties can receive the financial assistance that they need. We thank you in advance for your timely consideration of this important request and stand ready to assist in any way appropriate.
Sincerely,