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"Winter came early last week when Illinois was blanketed by heavy
snow and ice," Blagojevich said. "I'm declaring these counties as
disasters to help local governments with cleanup. We've dispatched
National Guard troops and state medical teams to go door-to-door in
some cases to make sure people are OK. I've said it before and I'll
say it again -- as long as people need help, we'll work with local
officials to get it to them."
Blagojevich declared 49 counties disaster areas due to record or
near-record snowfall and extraordinary ice formations: Adams, Bond,
Boone, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Cass, Champaign, Christian, DeKalb,
DeWitt, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henry, Jersey, Kendall, Knox,
LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Marshall,
Mason, McLean, McDonough, McHenry, Menard, Morgan, Monroe,
Montgomery, Ogle, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Sangamon, Schuyler,
Scott, Shelby, St. Clair, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Winnebago and
Woodford.
The gubernatorial proclamation will assist the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency in coordinating state resources, including the
Illinois National Guard, to support local governments in their
disaster response and recovery efforts.
On Tuesday, the governor also directed inmate crews and state
trucks to assist communities with debris cleanup. Two Illinois
Department of Corrections inmate crews, totaling 26, will be in
Nokomis on Wednesday and Thursday for debris removal, along with
three trucks and an end loader from the Illinois Department of
Transportation. One eight-person inmate work crew and two Department
of Transportation trucks and an end loader are assisting
Mechanicsburg with debris removal on Wednesday. In addition, an
eight-person inmate team will assist with debris removal in Kincaid
on Wednesday through Friday.
Illinois Army National Guard soldiers began their door-to-door
mission Tuesday morning in Decatur to help local officials ensure
the health and welfare of area residents. Guardsmen visited more
than 1,000 homes and are continuing their efforts on Wednesday.
Personnel from the following central Illinois units have been placed
on state active duty to support local officials: Company A, 2nd
Battalion, 106th Aviation, based in Pontiac; Company D, 2nd
Battalion, 130th Infantry, based in Salem; and the Springfield-based
233rd Military Police Company. The more than 250 soldiers are
distributing emergency information, as well as gathering information
in the affected neighborhoods regarding status of services, blocked
streets or intersections, trapped vehicles, and other information
that will be useful to police, fire and other emergency departments.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 108,000 homes were still
without electricity in Illinois, nearly 38,000 of those in the
Decatur area.
On Nov. 28, with weather forecasts indicating a possible severe
winter storm, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency began
preparing for possible activation of the State Emergency Operations
Center by reaching out to state agency liaisons and gathering
pre-event information on available assets and response capabilities.
The emergency center has been activated since the evening of Nov. 30
to monitor storm conditions and work with local officials on any
state assistance needed. The center will remain activated as long as
necessary. To date the state has assisted in several ways, including
the following:
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More than 500
troops from the Illinois Army National Guard helped ensure the
safety of citizens on Saturday and Sunday. About 100 Guardsmen
were sent to East St. Louis, where they conducted more than 800
door-to-door checks on citizens, while others checked for
stranded motorists at rest stops and along interstate highways
from the I-80 corridor down to I-70.
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An 18-member
Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team was dispatched to
Decatur to provide medical care at a shelter for special needs
individuals at Richland Community College. So far, 11 area
residents are at the shelter.
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Four inmate crews
with a total of 52 inmates began working in Taylorville on
Monday to assist the Taylorville Street Department with storm
debris removal. In addition, eight trucks from the Illinois
Department of Transportation will assist with hauling debris.
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More than 120 cots
from the Illinois National Guard and 600 meals were delivered by
staff from the Department of Central Management Services to four
shelters in St. Clair County.
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The state
dispatched a mobile command vehicle from Bloomington and an
Illinois Transportable Emergency Communications System from
Champaign to Decatur to aid with the emergency response effort.
The equipment was purchased with the state's homeland security
funding but is available for use during any type of emergency.
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Using an Illinois
National Guard Black Hawk helicopter, an Illinois Department of
Transportation truck, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
snowmobiles and an Illinois State Police four-wheel drive
vehicle, 200 meals were delivered to stranded travelers at a
rest area along I-80 near Princeton on Friday evening, and
another 200 were delivered to stranded motorists at a rest area
east of Galesburg. In addition, IDOT Aeronautics provided
disaster intelligence to the State Emergency Operations Center
via a helicopter flying above the rest stop.
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The Illinois
National Guard used equipment and personnel to assist with
moving a small passenger jet at the Peoria Airport after the jet
broke down, blocking the gate area.
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To date, more than
1,700 Department of Transportation trucks have plowed more than
325,000 miles along Illinois interstates and highways.
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Hundreds of people
have sought a warm place to spend the night at several shelters
established by the American Red Cross.
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The State
Emergency Operations Center is coordinating with local emergency
management officials on assistance needed in their communities
as they respond to the ice, heavy snow and strong winds.
[News release from the governor's office] |
