Following a spate of wet, windy weather and tornadoes in the Chicago area this week, Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday contended that the federal government had “turned their back” on Illinois families when it denied the state’s request for relief from damaging storms last year.
“When disaster strikes, people should not have to wonder whether their ZIP code or their party affiliation will determine whether they get help. A flooded basement doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat or Republican,” Pritzker said.
The governor made his comments while signing legislation on the city’s Southwest Side that will eventually allow new rebates for some residents affected by flooding, and before visiting storm damage near the Indiana border in south-suburban Lansing.
And Pritzker’s remarks came as Illinois has struggled to secure federal disaster relief under the Trump administration, the Tribune has previously reported. An analysis by Politico/E&E News earlier this year found that Trump approved just 23% of disaster funding requests from solidly blue states — those with both a Democratic governor and two Democratic U.S. senators. By comparison, Trump approved requests from solidly red states 89% of the time.
Last year, a July storm dumped 3.25 inches of rain on Midway Airport, near where Pritzker spoke Friday, and also hit the south suburbs and other parts of Illinois. Trump denied Illinois’ request for disaster relief for that storm and others that summer.
This March, Pritzker chose not to pursue a presidential disaster declaration after a tornado hit the Kankakee area and damaged about 500 structures, even though he had previously signaled his intention to seek “federal resources.”
State and county officials ultimately concluded the damage had a “low likelihood of meeting (Federal Emergency Management Agency) thresholds as we’ve previously understood them,” according to a Pritzker spokesperson, and the state instead sought Small Business Administration loans for affected residents.
FEMA, which oversees the federal disaster response, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon but has previously disputed that politics played a role in its denials.
“Any suggestion that disaster decisions are politically motivated does not reflect how this process works or how FEMA carries out its mission,” a spokesperson said in an earlier emailed statement. “FEMA continues to process federal declaration requests and deliver assistance promptly, supporting state and local governments to invest in their own resilience before disaster strikes.”
Pritzker on Friday said he still believes it’s possible for FEMA to provide funds to Illinois, despite the state’s previous disagreements with the Trump administration.
“I don’t think there’s any reason we should just say they’re never going to do it. They have, and I believe they will,” Pritzker said.
Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee looking to unseat Pritzker in November, earlier this week suggested the governor work more closely with Trump to deliver storm relief.
Pritzker acknowledged the storm damage but framed a formal disaster declaration as “really part of a paperwork process.”
“It doesn’t need to happen on day one,” Pritzker said. He didn’t confirm whether he would do so following the storms this past week.
The law Pritzker signed Friday, which takes effect next year, will allow the Southwest Home Equity Assurance Program and Northwest Home Equity Assurance Program — which each serve residents in those parts of Chicago — to provide homeowners with up to $1,000 in direct reimbursement for flood-related costs.
