Governor Quinn Requests Federal Disaster Aid for Residents in Eight Additional Counties

SPRINGFIELD - Governor Pat Quinn today asked the Obama Administration to add eight additional Illinois counties to a recent federal disaster declaration to help residents affected by widespread flooding last month. Counties included in today's request are Brown, Calhoun, Clark, Douglas, Henry, Pike, Whiteside and Winnebago. If the request is approved, residents in those counties will be eligible to apply for grants and low-interest federal loans to help with their recovery.

"The recent federal disaster declaration approved by the Obama Administration has helped thousands of people in the declared counties get critical assistance to recover from this flood," Governor Quinn said. "We are grateful for the Obama Administration's swift response and I urge them to also quickly approve this request so the residents in these additional counties can get the aid they need to get back on their feet."

According to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), 141 homes in these eight counties incurred flood damage, including 27 with major damage.

Today's submission is the third and final state request for federal assistance to help people and businesses affected by the flooding in April. So far, 25 counties have been approved for federal assistance, including Bureau, Cook, Crawford, DeKalb, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Kane, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Peoria, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Will and Woodford.

To date, more than $62.3 million in federal assistance has been provided to more than 21,400 applicants from the 25 approved counties.

On May 22, Governor Quinn requested federal aid to help local governments in 25 counties recoup 75 percent of their eligible flood-related costs, such as emergency protective measures, debris removal and repair or replacement of roads, bridges and other public facilities. A request to add additional counties for local government assistance is expected later this week.