Flood-ravaged DuPage towns seeking federal help

Facing flood-damaged towns and frazzled residents, a group of DuPage County mayors on Monday urged U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin to share their concerns with Washington.

"It is helpful for Sen. Durbin to see and hear firsthand, as he ideally lobbies FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and provides a recommendation to the president to declare this a federal disaster area," Elmhurst City Manager Thomas Borchert said.

Officials from Addison, Bensenville, Carol Stream, Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace and Villa Park joined officials from seven Cook County suburbs to meet with Durbin.

Durbin also joined Elmhurst Mayor Peter DiCianni to tour the city where roughly 1,000 of its almost 14,000 homes were damaged after the sewer system could not handle the torrential rains that began July 23.

The storms dropped more than 7 inches of rain in just a matter of hours, slamming the area with about 60 billion gallons of water over two days.

Portions of towns such as Carol Stream are still recovering more than a week later. Village President Frank Saverino said Monday he saw residents filling Dumpsters with water-damaged items, while others are not even back in their homes yet.

Nearly 50 homes on Hiawatha and Illini drives, as well as Silverleaf Boulevard, Arapahoe Trail and Iowa Court, remained underwater for days after the rain ended last week.

"People are angry and I understand why they're angry," Saverino said. "And all of us (municipalities) are struggling through this together. The governor declared DuPage and Cook counties as disaster areas, but that means little until (President) Obama says it's OK."

Gov. Pat Quinn declared Cook and DuPage counties disaster areas last week, which is the first step toward securing FEMA funds. Now towns are collecting data to help the state determine whether it can handle the damage. If not, officials will request federal disaster assistance.

Durbin has helped secure similar federal funding in the past, including after the floods of September 2008, and his spokesman said the senator will support the latest request.

In addition, Monday's meeting included officials from FEMA, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

The point, officials said, was to connect local leaders with agencies that can help their residents.

"They had all the people who could make a difference there," said Saverino. "But there is so much to this. The date must be put together town-by-town and this is worse than 2008. There are a lot less people working, so you've got less people with insurance and some flooded houses completely empty."