Cook County to get assistance from flooding

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Friday the federal government will provide assistance to Cook County to help it recover from the severe storms and flooding in late August.

Getting named a federal disaster area means being reimbursed for up to 75 percent of storm-related expenses.

Kane, DeKalb, Grundy, LaSalle, Lake and Will counties were declared federal disaster areas last month. Knox and Warren counties, along with Cook, were added to the list this week.

Blagojevich had sent a letter to President Bush requesting the assistance for local governments in several Illinois counties. Sen. Richard Durbin had urged the Bush administration to name Cook, McHenry and DuPage counties disaster areas after Kane, Lake, Will and other counties were named last month.

Blagojevich already had declared parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties state disaster areas.

A Web site and hotline will be set up to help in the application process. After that, some forms of help could be in people's hands within weeks, Michael Lampton, a spokesman for the U.S. Small Business Administration disaster program, said last month.

There are limits: Cash grants stop at $28,500 for households; loans are capped at $1.5 million for businesses and $200,000 for individual real estate repairs.

The city of Des Plaines last month estimated it spent about $2.4 million in storm-related costs. Mount Prospect estimated $1.3 million. Hoffman Estates officials have estimated spending about $1 million after the storms.

Des Plaines used its financial reserves to cover the bills for tree removal and wood chipping, among other expenses.

Think you need help?

If your county is declared a federal disaster area, you could qualify for financial help to aid with flood and storm damage repair. Here are some things to know before you apply for it:

- Check with your insurance company first to make sure you know what will - and won't - be covered. You cannot be reimbursed twice for the same damages, and you'll also have to show proof that something wasn't covered.

-Have photos of the damages, if possible.

- Keep receipts of any repairs that you've already paid for.

- Assistance largely will be doled out for essential needs, though officials encourage everyone to at least apply.