Administration again denies FEMA disaster relief for Illinois, Pritzker says

The Trump administration has denied another request from Illinois to assist in the state’s recovery from severe flash floods in late July, despite a recent assessment detailing the widespread damage and financial cost of the storms.

In a letter sent Friday to a local Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator and obtained by The Washington Post, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) appealed FEMA’s denial for assistance and provided a report that he said proved the state’s damage met the criteria needed to obtain individual assistance from the federal government.

Earlier, the Trump administration denied a request for assistance in late October because of “insufficient severity” and the state’s resources, according to the letter. Cook County - which includes Chicago - and other parts of Illinois had severe flooding July 25-28 and again Aug. 16-19.

Some lawmakers and FEMA officials have contended that decisions on federal aid for severe natural disasters - such as wildfires, hurricanes and flash flooding - have become increasingly political, favoring red states over blue, especially when it comes to the speed of approving disaster declarations.

The administration has approved aid to some states reeling from storm damage, including Texas and Alaska. But FEMA aid for the Western Maryland floods that occurred this spring was denied, which Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said was to punish Democratic-led states.

FEMA and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pritzker’s office also did not respond to a request for comment.

The severity of Illinois’ storms would have “met any reasonable threshold” to get a disaster declaration approved, according to a veteran FEMA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to comment publicly about the matter.

After the administration turned down Illinois’ request in October, the state asked in early November for a second round of public-damage assessments. FEMA staff conducted another assessment for about a week and found even more damage, the official said. The news of the latest denial was reported earlier by E&E News.

In his letter, Pritzker requested an estimated $190 million in direct assistance to support 187,500 people affected by the storms, 62 percent of whom were described as economically vulnerable. The state’s resources have been strained to support the recovery from the summer’s storms, he wrote.

An analysis included in the letter “demonstrates the significant financial burden on the State’s resources and clear need for federal assistance.”

According to Pritzker’s letter, the average cost for affected households was $16,784 statewide and $11,500 in Cook County, the state’s biggest county.

More than half of affected households reported mold or sewage contamination, 16 percent of families were displaced, and 17 percent reported income loss due to the storms. A majority of those affected were low-income households, and more than 40 percent were elderly or disabled.

The report also included examples of Illinois residents affected by the storm, including a single mother and her two children who were displaced when sewage flooded their basement. Another was a rural homeowner whose family was forced to shelter for a week after their garage and personal belongings were submerged.