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According to officials with the Emergency Management
Assistance Compact which is coordinating all Gulf States' requests
for personnel and equipment, nearly all fifty states have sent
volunteers to Louisiana and Mississippi, totaling more than 41,000
people. Illinois sent nearly 2,100 - about five percent of the
total volunteers sent by states.
"Since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast region, more than
2,000 Illinoisans left their
families and jobs behind to answer a desperate call
for help. In addition to our law enforcers, fire
fighters, state workers and other volunteers putting
their own lives on hold to help others, we also
opened our doors at home in Illinois to more than
6,000 victims displaced by the storm. Whether they traveled to
Illinois on their own or on flights
arranged by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while they are
here we are connecting them to resources and services including
temporary housing, health care for their families, jobs, food or
clothing. I couldn't be more proud of the way our
citizens and our state agencies responded to the
disaster," said Gov. Blagojevich.
Gov. Blagojevich deployed the law enforcement officers who returned
today to Louisiana on September 3. The group included law
enforcement officers from local agencies throughout the state as
well as officers from the Illinois State Police (ISP), the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources and the Secretary of State. The
deployment was coordinated through the Illinois Law Enforcement
Alarm System (ILEAS), the state's law enforcement mutual aid
organization.
"I am very proud of all the Task Force Illinois
officers who are returning today from the Gulf Coast region," said
Illinois State Police Director Larry G. Trent. "When asked, without
hesitation, these dedicated officers from both local and state
police agencies responded to one of our nation's worst natural
disasters. They deserve to be recognized for a job well done. I wish
to personally thank each one for the sacrifices they and their
families have made to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina."
"ILEAS is proud to have been able to help the people of Louisiana
and to once again prove how well the mutual aid system works in
Illinois," said Gary Stryker, ILEAS Governing Board President.
Other Illinois groups that have returned from the Gulf Coast
include: 52 Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT)
doctors, nurses and paramedics, who manned a field hospital in Baton
Rouge; an 11-member Incident Management Team (IMT) comprised of two
Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) employees and nine local
emergency management officials that was directing emergency
management efforts for a six-county area around Gulfport,
Mississippi; and an environmental strike team consisting of
personnel from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the
Illinois Department of Public Health, which assisted with drinking
water and food safety issues.
The 800 Illinois National Guard troops that were deployed earlier
this month will remain in Louisiana through the end of September.
Since Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, Gov. Blagojevich
ordered all state agencies to respond in a coordinated manner to
help recovery and cleanup efforts in the Gulf Coast, and victims
coming into Illinois:
Arriving on four flights arranged by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, Illinois has received more than 430
displaced victims from the Gulf Coast states. Individuals and
families, upon arrival received immediate medical care and were
provided housing from the state in Tinley Park, Elgin, Alton and
Rockford. The American Red Cross estimates an additional 6,000
displaced victims arrived in Illinois by their own means.
The Governor launched a Hurricane Katrina Victim Assistance Hotline
(800-843-6154) to offer a broad range of services to the thousands
of Hurricane Katrina victims who made their own way to Illinois, as
well as the individuals, community organizations and local
governments that have taken them in. The hotline connects displaced
victims to services available to them, ranging from housing
assistance to medical care to employment. The Illinois Department of
Human Services (DHS) is coordinating the hotline. Hotline hours of
operation are between 9am and midnight daily. Callers have one-stop
access to all of the State of Illinois' resources for Katrina
victims - from emergency food and shelter to more long-term
assistance like unemployment benefits and
food stamps. Callers can also be connected to local and federal
resources.
Gov. Blagojevich deployed more than 2,000
Illinoisans to help Louisiana respond to the
devastation resulting from Hurricane Katrina. The
deployments include nearly 600 firefighters and 800 National Guard
troops.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security is helping displaced
victims process unemployment claims and facilitating job searches
and job training. IDES and Central Management Services employees
have set up remote computer stations in the state facilities in
Tinley Park, Alton, Elgin and Rockford, where evacuees are being
provided housing.
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A group of 100 state employees traveled to
Louisiana to help the Louisiana Department of Social Services reach
out to victims in remote areas of the state. The volunteers include
clerical employees, security personnel, information technology
specialists, drivers and mechanics.
The Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation has reached out to state-chartered banks and thrifts and
asked them to provide free check cashing, eliminate ATM service fees
and help establish checking and saving accounts for displaced
victims now residing in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Revenue has extended filing deadlines to
taxpayers from counties damaged by Hurricane Katrina and who owe
Illinois taxes, until October 31, 2005.
A total of 134 highly trained law enforcement
officers from state and local agencies were deployed to Louisiana.
These include Weapons of Mass Destruction teams, Tactical Response
teams,
Underwater Dive teams, a mobile command post, various all terrain
vehicles, boats and trucks.
The Illinois Department of Transportation
contributed 500 yards of fencing and 500 stakes on two lowboys
pulled by two semis that will be in the law enforcement convoy.
The Governor dispatched a total of 52 members of the Illinois
Medical Emergency Response Teams (IMERT) to Louisiana to assist with
care of the massive number of sick and injured victims from
Hurricane Katrina, and dispatched an 11-member Incident Management
Team to George County, Mississippi to assist local emergency
managers during the crisis.
The Governor ordered the state's public schools to waive residency
requirements and enroll any child displaced by Hurricane Katrina who
relocates to live with family, friends or in a shelter in Illinois.
To date, more than 400 children displaced by Hurricane Katrina are
enrolled in 46 different Illinois school districts.
The state's 39 community colleges will accommodate any Illinois
resident displaced from higher education studies because of the
hurricane, while Illinois' 12 public universities will also take in
students affected by the destruction along the Gulf Coast. Students
are encouraged to contact admissions offices at each university to
being an expedited process to enroll in the institution and to
access university services like financial aid.
The Department of Natural Resources and the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency have offered
free camping and removed length of stay requirements for Hurricane
victims at all state parks and historic sites that offer camping.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) waived certain
transportation rules to allow standard-sized semis carrying supplies
and materials to Louisiana to be overweight by up to 15,000 pounds
when they travel on Illinois roads. Currently, a standard-sized semi
is only allowed to weigh 80,000 pounds when traveling through
Illinois. IDOT will also grant emergency permits to companies that
need to move oversized equipment to the impacted area.
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) made available various
items through IEMA's emergency procurement system including 256,000
half pints of water, 8,500 blankets, 18,300 clothing items, and
2,900 dozen packages of cleaning supplies. IDOC has also delivered
3,000 bedrolls to the Red Cross in Hillside.
The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs sent toiletries and food
to facilities where displaced
victims have been housed, and in collaboration with several other
federal and private agencies will send food to the Gulf Coast
states.
The Department of Central Management Services made available its
Bureau of Communication and Computer Services (BCCS) to help provide
communications assistance to devastated areas. Using broadband
services, including high speed data transmission to remote areas
underserved by local carriers, BCCS can provide relief command
centers with uplinks for phone and internet access, and also links
to shelters so displaced individuals can call loved ones.
The Department of Human Services sent staff skilled in processing
Food Stamps, to help the United States Department of Agriculture
implement a Disaster Food Stamp program in 25 Louisiana counties.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture made
available to the Illinois State Police the Expo
Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds as a
staging area to consolidate personnel, equipment and supplies in
preparation for deployment.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the Illinois
Department of Public Health (IDPH) dispatched twelve specialists to
Louisiana. The specialists are members of four environmental health
strike teams being sent by the state at the request of the Louisiana
Emergency Management Agency. Their expertise includes drinking
water, sewage, food safety and food salvage. In addition, two IEPA
trucks stocked with emergency response equipment and two IDPH
vehicles were deployed.
[News release] |
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