Galesburg Reporter

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has requested a federal disaster declaration for Illinois due to the flood damage that has ravaged the state over the last several months.

In a post to her website, state Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) noted that Individual Assistance has been requested for 22 counties and Public Assistance for 32 counties, which could mean as much as $69 million in federal aid for the state. If approved, the funds would be earmarked for local governments, residents and businesses affected by the historic flood conditions, allowing them to apply for grants and loans to offset losses and expenses. 

Of the $69 million now being sought, $8.2 million is targeted for individuals who have suffered losses and the remaining $61 million is for units of government. Tracy said she and other leaders are hoping to use the lessons of the past to help weather the difficult times ahead.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

“On Sept. 4, I was a member of a panel with Quincy Mayor Kyle Moore and Adams County EMS Director John Simon at the 23rd annual IEMA Training Summit in Springfield,” Tracy wrote on her website. “We discussed the lessons learned from the 1993 Mississippi River flooding to the 2008 flooding and now the historic flooding in 2019, and the importance of coordination among local and state officials.”