[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 16, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S8838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            CHICAGO FLOODING

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today President Bush was in Texas to see 
firsthand the devastation from Hurricane Ike. Unfortunately, this is 
not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that Mother Nature 
has shown us her worst. My heart goes out to the millions of displaced 
residents and evacuees who are anxious to return home, who are without 
power, who must depend on others for food and water and other 
necessities, and who face the long hard task of rebuilding their homes 
and communities.
  We know a little of what that is like in Illinois. In June, the 
Midwest was hit by massive flooding, some of the worst we have seen 
since the Great Flood of 1993. Experts called it a 200 to 500-year 
event. It left entire communities underwater, broke levees, and washed 
away roads, bridges, and millions of acres of cropland. The damage 
could have been worse, if Illinoisans had not worked so long and so 
hard to fill sandbags, fortify levees, and stand their ground against 
the rising waters of the Mississippi.
  But sometimes weather-related disasters strike with no warning and 
you don't have time to prepare for the worst. Over the weekend my State 
was hit by the sixth major flooding event in the last year alone when 3 
days of rain dumped more than 100 billion gallons of water on the city 
of Chicago--two or three times the normal amount. More than 7 inches of 
rain fell on the Chicago area on Saturday alone, setting a new 1-day 
record at O'Hare. In the suburbs, some of the worst flooding was along 
the Des Plaines River, which crested at near-record levels, displaced 
thousands of residents, and flooded hundreds of homes.
  On Monday I had a chance to see for myself the damage in Albany Park, 
a neighborhood in Chicago that was one of the hardest hit areas. 
Thirty-ninth Ward Alderman Margaret Laurino accompanied me as I met 
with residents like Aaron Gadiel, who waded through knee-high water in 
his fishing boots and searched his home to see if he could salvage 
clothing for his kids. I want to commend the local and city officials I 
saw going door to door with pumps, checking to see if residents needed 
help, and pitching in wherever they were needed. I especially want to 
thank Terry O'Brien, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation 
District, and Ray Orozco, executive director of Chicago's Office of 
Emergency Management and Communications, OEMC, for taking the time to 
show me the extent of the flood damage.
  The same weather system that dumped billions of gallons of rain on 
Chicago also caused the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to swell in 
other parts of Illinois. U.S. Army Corps officials are keeping a close 
eye on the system of levees and dams that protect these communities to 
make sure that these residents don't experience a repeat of the June 
floods.
  Today the skies are clearing over Chicago. Water levels are falling, 
roads are reopening and some folks are returning home. But the 
recordbreaking rains that evacuated thousands, left four dead, closed 
roads and flooded homes have left more than a watermark. As Des Plaines 
Mayor Tony Arredia rightly pointed out, we still have cleaning up to 
do. I am committed to making sure that Illinoisans do not face this 
task alone.

                          ____________________