[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 156 (Sunday, September 28, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF CHICAGOANS HELPING THEIR NEIGHBORS FOLLOWING THIS 
                            MONTH'S FLOODING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RAHM EMANUEL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Sunday, September 28, 2008

  Mr. EMANUEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers, and other Chicagoans 
who pitched in to help their neighbors in the Albany Park neighborhood 
and other areas affected by record flooding earlier this month.
  When I toured the Albany Park area Sunday before last--after 3 
straight days of hard rain and a rising river--I saw streets, parks, 
sidewalks, and backyards underneath the floodwaters. Chicago bungalows 
line these streets, and no amount of sandbags could prevent the 
floodwaters that submerged streets, sidewalks and parks from pouring 
in.
  But rather than chaos, I saw neighbors helping neighbors, and a 
coordinated response from Chicago's city workers and the Army Corps of 
Engineers. The city of Chicago coordinated emergency services to be 
accessible with a telephone call to 311, and Aldermen and other elected 
officials were on the front lines ensuring residents' safety and 
organizing the clean-up and rebuilding efforts.
  Now that the flood waters have receded, I am working across party 
lines with my colleagues from all over Cook County and all over 
Illinois to make sure that our State has the emergency assistance we 
need and resources to continue the clean-up and rebuilding process. 
This week, the entire Illinois delegation sent a letter to the 
President supporting Illinois' request for a major disaster declaration 
and emergency Federal assistance. We will continue to work together to 
help our home state just as our constituents have helped one another.
  As the saying goes, the colder the weather, the warmer the hearts. 
Chicagoans have experience braving freezing winters, but in times of 
need, they have the warmest hearts. I commend the men and women who 
volunteered to help their neighbors. With families rebuilding homes and 
lives after these floods, that goodwill and those good works will go a 
long way to rebuilding neighborhoods like Albany Park, and I am 
committed to making sure that Chicago has the tools and funds we need 
to complete the job.

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