Cook suburbs to get $13.9 million for flood recovery

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department announced this week that it is awarding $13.9 million to suburban Cook County to aid in the recovery from last spring's devastating storms, strong winds and flooding.

HUD will publish a notice that will regulate the use of the funds announced this week. State and local grantees will then finalize disaster “action plans” describing how they intend to expend these funds to support disaster recovery and HUD will quickly review them, the agency said in a news release.

Des Plaines was one of the hardest-hit towns, with the Des Plaines River rising overnight to inundate homes, businesses and major thoroughfares. Des Plaines officials were uncertain Wednesday just how the community might benefit from the funding that was announced.

HUD's CDBG-Disaster Recovery grants are intended to confront housing, business and infrastructure needs beyond those addressed by other forms of public and private assistance, according to the release. Using a combination of data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), HUD identified those states and localities requiring the greatest assistance.

“HUD is continuing to work closely with state and local partners to help them meet these remaining needs and promote locally driven recovery strategies,” Secretary Shaun Donovan said in the release.

“This funding will help make the county's cities and local governments whole again while allowing them to better prepare for future storms,” Sen. Dick Durbin said in the release.