HUD awards Cook, DuPage counties another $64 million in flood relief

Suburban Cook and DuPage counties will receive nearly $64 million in additional federal disaster relief to assist communities still recovering from last spring's record storms and flooding.

The relief, announced Monday by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, is part of an additional $129 million the federal agency says it's giving to the state through its Community Development Block Grant Program to support long-term disaster recovery efforts in areas with the greatest extent of "unmet need."

The city of Chicago will receive $47.7 million; Cook County will receive $54.9 million; DuPage County will receive $18.9 million; and the state will receive $6.8 million, according to HUD.

The funding will help towns and residents dealing with the fallout from a record storm April 17 that flooded thousands of properties along the Des Plaines and DuPage rivers, along with other parts of the suburbs. Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Wheeling, Lisle, Naperville and Lombard were among the communities hardest hit.

With the assistance announced Monday, HUD to date has allocated more than $157 million to support long-term disaster recovery in Illinois, including $68.8 million in suburban Cook County and $25.9 million in DuPage County, the agency reports.

"Last spring's storms caused damage to thousands of homes, and it was clear that we needed to do more to support recovery in Illinois," Donovan said in a news release. "HUD will stand with state and local leaders as they work toward a more resilient recovery and help those people and places that need this support the most."

The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, signed into law by President Barack Obama on Jan. 29, 2013, included $15.2 billion in CDBG-Disaster Recovery funding. 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.

Using a combination of data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration, HUD identified states and local communities requiring the greatest assistance.

HUD has designated DuPage and Cook County as "Most Impacted and Distressed," such that 80 percent of the funds need to be spent in those counties.