Gov. Blagojevich asks President Bush for federal disaster declaration covering St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Jefferson and Washington counties         

Federal declaration would give residents, businesses and local governments access to financial assistance in effort to recover from severe storm damage

[JULY 27, 2006]  CHICAGO -- Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on Wednesday asked President Bush to declare five Metro East counties as federal disaster areas in the wake of the severe storms that battered the region last week on Wednesday and again on Friday. A federal disaster declaration would enable people, businesses and local governments in the affected areas to apply for grants and loans to help with storm-related losses. Counties in the governor's request are St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Jefferson and Washington.

The governor had declared all five counties disaster areas, with Washington County being declared on Wednesday. The state declaration makes it possible for local units of government to be partially reimbursed for extraordinary costs incurred during the disaster response and cleanup.

"The Metro East region was hit especially hard twice by these storms, hundreds of thousands of people have been without electricity, and some have lost their homes. We know that the road to recovery in this region will be a long one, so today I asked President Bush for federal assistance," Blagojevich said after reviewing the first damage assessment reports submitted by local officials.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to be on-site Friday morning to begin a preliminary damage assessment, the first step toward securing a federal declaration. The initial reports submitted by local officials showed more than 2,600 homes damaged in the five-county area, and those numbers included totals from just a handful of communities. Included in that number were eight homes destroyed and 180 that had sustained major damage.

The state has been intensively involved with response and recovery efforts in the Metro East since last week. The governor directed agencies to aid in response:

• Directed the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and county emergency services and disaster agencies to work with the local Red Cross to establish cooling centers in the area during the early days of the power outage, when heat indexes reached 115 degrees.

• Activated the State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield on Friday to coordinate state response efforts to the storm-ravaged areas. The governor also dispatched the Illinois Emergency Management Agency's Unified Area Command vehicle to the Metro East. The unit is providing coordinated assistance with the recovery efforts in the entire region.

• Dispatched state damage assessment teams a week ago to identify the areas of greatest need and evaluate the damage.

• Instructed the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily waive the requirement that gasoline distributors sell a special gasoline blend in the Metro East region.

• Sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requesting waivers to avoid any fuel shortages following the devastating storms. The U.S. EPA has granted Blagojevich's request to waive the requirement that gasoline distributors sell a special gasoline blend in the Metro East region: St. Clair, Madison and Monroe. The waiver is for 10 days and will be effective through Aug. 4.

• Directed the Illinois EPA to expedite the review of the construction permits requested by ConocoPhillips to install portable cooling towers so that their refinery in Wood River can resume production after sustaining damage in the storms.

• Sent equipment and staff from the Illinois Department of Transportation to the affected areas to remove downed trees, branches and other debris.

• Dispatched dozens of work crews from the Illinois Department of Corrections to provide much-needed labor.

• Activated the Illinois Department of Human Services' emergency help line for Metro East residents in need of social services. The toll-free number is 1 [phone] voice or 1 [phone] TTY.

To date, Illinois departments and agencies have responded by providing the following aid and assistance:

• The Department of Natural Resources provided chain saws and operators for debris removal.

• The Illinois State Police provided law enforcement assistance, upon request, to local law enforcement agencies.

• The Illinois Emergency Management Agency distributed more than 15,000 ready-to-eat meals.

• The Department of Human Services issued replacement food stamps to 10,000 people whose food was destroyed.

• The Illinois Emergency Management Agency delivered 18,750 bags of ice.

• The Department of Corrections delivered more than 85,000 eight-ounce containers of water.

• Thirty-nine inmate work crews and more than 150 Department of Transportation trucks, chippers, backhoes and end loaders removed more than 275,000 cubic yards of debris.

[News release from the governor's office]

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