[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6389-S6390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NORTHERN ILLINOIS FLOODING

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Illinois, over the weekend, had torrential 
rains hit our State. They took a terrible toll on already strained 
water and flood control systems across Illinois. In a matter of hours, 
Chicago and northwestern Illinois were pounded by nearly record amounts 
of rainfall. An estimated 60 billion gallons of rain fell on Chicago 
Friday night. I was driving in. I was there. My wife was struggling to 
come in from Washington, and it took her all night to make it to 
Chicago. It led to flash flooding, a lot of evacuation, and lot of 
property damage.
  The rain actually started Thursday night. By Friday morning, we had 6 
inches of rain and flood conditions. Another intense rain began again 
on Friday and didn't let up until Saturday morning. In Joe Daviess 
County, at the northwest corner of our State, more than 12 inches fell 
during the course of the weekend. Roads are closed in Joe Daviess, 
bridges are out, and the county--along with several other counties in 
the region--have declared a state of disaster as they focus on cleanup 
and restoring basic services.
  Yesterday, I talked to Mayor Larry Stebbins of Savannah and to 
Sheriff

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Jeff Doran of Carroll County. I spoke to Randy Prasse, too, who leads 
the Tri County Economic Development Alliance. His group is part of the 
local leadership working to assess damage and restore business.
  Across the north and northwestern part of Illinois, people have lost 
homes and businesses, many more were forced to evacuate, and hundreds 
of thousands lost power and safe drinking water.
  The Chicago area was hit particularly hard by the Friday night rains 
which dumped 4\1/2\ inches of rain on Chicago and up to 7 inches on the 
nearby towns of Westchester and Cicero. The rains flooded 43 viaducts 
and quickly filled all 190 miles of the Deep Tunnel system.
  I would just like to say to my friends who talk about the access of 
our river and canal system to Lake Michigan that if we could not send 
that storm water out into Lake Michigan, the flooding would be 
dramatically worse. We have a deep tunnel that gathers as much water as 
we can in these rains, but it is not enough. It was overwhelmed this 
last weekend. So those who have a concern about the Asian carp, as I 
do, need to also be as concerned about the environmental impact of 
decisions that might be made. We are trying to put this in the context 
of economic reality, flood reality, and certainly the reality that none 
of us want to see this invasive species in Lake Michigan. But it is a 
complex interconnected system, and we have to look at the entire 
system, not some quick press release that might suggest an easy answer 
that may not really solve the problem but may create more.
  One apartment building along the Chicago River was evacuated before 
12 feet of water rolled in--12 feet--flooding the basement and cutting 
off electricity to a 17-story building.
  The Sun came out on Sunday and, true to form, Illinoisans began 
digging out and cleaning up. The damage from these floods led Governor 
Pat Quinn to declare a State disaster in 12 counties--Carroll, Cook, 
DuPage, Henders, Joe Daviess, Lee, Mercer, Ogle, Rock Island, 
Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago. As the water begins to recede, 
the recovery and damage assessment has just begun. Communities such as 
Savannah, Westchester, Cicero, Melrose Park, and others suffered 
substantial damage. But anyone who suffered damage during this flood 
faces a long difficult process to recover. Some homes will need to be 
rebuilt in some parts of our State, mold and waste removed, possessions 
replaced or repaired, highways, bridges and other necessary 
infrastructure restored, and businesses reopened.
  Already cash-strapped, many of the affected communities are 
struggling to figure out how they will manage the cleanup, repair the 
roads, restore the bridges, and help the residents recover. I spoke 
last night with John Blum, the County Board Chair for Stephenson 
County, Congressman Manzullo, and other leaders in the region. We also 
talked to Marvin Shultz, Joe Daviess County board chair, and Rodney 
Fritz, the Carroll County board chair. They are hurting, but they are 
determined. They are working around the cloak to restore services and 
get their communities back to work.
  As the State and Governor continue to assess damages and options for 
recovery assistance, I am standing ready, I am sure, with my colleague, 
Senator Burris, to help Illinois residents impacted by this flood. I 
look forward to working with the Governor to explore any Federal 
assistance for which the State and communities may be eligible.
  Mr. President, I might say, we were recently asked by the States of 
Tennessee and Rhode Island to deal with their horrible flooding 
conditions, and we did, no questions asked. In this body, we stand as a 
family for our Nation. If one part of our Nation is struggling with a 
disaster, we stand together to help. No questions asked about Democrats 
and Republicans, no questions asked about are we going to raise a tax 
to do it. Let's help these people in trouble right now. I hope once the 
assessment is made we don't have to come here and ask for that 
assistance for Illinois. But if we do, I will do it with the knowledge 
that I have stood with other communities and other States when they 
have faced similar circumstances, and this Senate and this government 
have responded when needed.

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