(E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Illinois' congressional delegation is backing Gov. J.B. Pritzker's appeal to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reverse its decision to deny aid to individual flood victims.
FEMA in September determined the flooding 22 counties sustained along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers was not severe enough to warrant individual assistance.
The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale reports a letter signed by senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and the state's 18 U.S. House representatives urges FEMA to reconsider its decision. The letter points out about 1,695 homes and businesses sustained major damage due to the flood.
The federal government did approve the state's request for public assistance. That will allow local governments, as well as churches and nonprofits, to be reimbursed for flood-fighting expenditures and repairs to infrastructure, such as damaged roads.