Pritzker appeals FEMA’s decision to deny Illinois disaster aid

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker appealed the Trump administration’s decision to deny Illinois’ request for federal disaster relief on Thursday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied Illinois’ request last month without explanation for federal resources to respond to August storms. In an appeal submitted to the agency, the state provided updated damage numbers showing the storm cost eligible for public assistance is now $43 million — up from $27.6 million in the original request and well above FEMA’s $24.9 million standard.

“Our challenge has been what’s the standard?” Deputy Gov. Bria Scudder told Capitol News Illinois. “It seems as though this administration is playing politics with disaster assistance and of course that’s not part of the appeal, but it doesn’t change our responsibility to the people that have been affected.”

Pritzker submitted a request to FEMA last month seeking resources to help the eight counties recover from flooding, tornadoes and severe wind damage in mid-August. The governor’s request covered Champaign, Cook, Ford, Fulton, McLean, Tazewell, Vermilion and Will counties.

The state’s original request showed Illinois met FEMA’s criteria to qualify for relief, but some areas of the state did not meet FEMA’s threshold alone, including Cook and three other counties.

Read the appeal here.

In its appeal, the state said more information is now available that shows six of the eight impacted counties, including Cook, meet their thresholds for disaster relief. The state also said the Illinois Emergency Management Agency has been able to fully account for all costs from the storms, including debris removal, which was not yet complete in September. It also notes FEMA has validated costs by reviewing contracts and other payments.

The document also describes significant damage not previously disclosed to FEMA, including damaged hospitals, police and fire stations, and washed out roads throughout the state, as well as a levy in Fulton County that needs to be repaired from flooding.  The state says more people need help since it first requested FEMA’s assistance as people have had insurance claims denied.

It also notes that many of the affected areas have been repeatedly struck by severe storms in recent years, allowing costs to add up, and FEMA denied other requests for aid. The state itself has spent $3.4 million responding to the most recent storm, but Cook County has spent more than $8 million.

Officials from Cook, Fulton, McLean, Vermilion, Ford, Will and Champaign counties, along with local officials from Cuba and Normal, submitted statements to FEMA describing their needs. Eighteen state lawmakers, including 12 Republicans, submitted statements supporting Pritzker’s appeal.

“Local governments cannot be left to pay for the full financial burden of these horrific storms as they recover and repair critical infrastructure and continue to provide the essential services residents urgently need,” Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, wrote. “Please reconsider the decision and approve the State of Illinois’ appeal for a Major Disaster Declaration. Federal assistance is urgently needed so the impacted communities can recover and rebuild.”

It’s not clear when the state will hear back. Scudder said FEMA has taken longer to respond under Trump than in previous administrations.

Indiana received federal emergency aid for an emergency request resulting from the same storm system after Gov. Mike Braun asked for immediate aid while thousands went weeks without power. Illinois didn’t request financial help until mid-September because immediate assistance wasn’t required.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure that we are able to make our best case to getting that assistance and sometimes that takes a little bit of time,” Scudder said.

In previous disasters, the state has found more success with the U.S. Small Business Administration, which has different standards and provides different types assistance, namely low-interest loans. Though that’s been successful for other, usually smaller storms, Scudder said FEMA is still the preferred option because it provides a greater level of help.

FEMA’s future

Beyond getting help for this year’s storms, Pritzker is worried the Trump administration will make it harder for states to qualify for disaster assistance.

Politico reported in October that FEMA wants shift responsibility for disasters to the states, with only the costliest damages qualifying for federal assistance. FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton argued states will be able to recover more quickly on their own if they don’t wait for federal action. Significantly increasing the cost threshold states must meet could put Illinoisans on the hook for tens of millions of dollars each year in costs that would’ve previously been eligible for FEMA to cover.

“The ones that we are requesting help for are our state’s worst storms. We are constantly responding to storms,” Scudder said. “This is where we really need help. The state is doing a lot constantly just because of weather changes and emergencies that come up.”

In a 200-point plan Pritzker unveiled Wednesday that he wants the new Democratic Congress to tackle, the governor said ” FEMA should adopt more specific and transparent thresholds” for relief and ” should not use ‘reform’ as justification to limit assistance eligibility or cut support under the guise of shifting programs to the states.”

“What we really need is clarity, consistency and predictability,” Scudder said. “Tell us what the standard is so it can be applied fairly across states.”

A Politico analysis earlier this year found Democrat-led states saw just 23% of their disaster requests granted in his second term, compared to 89% for Republican states. Under the past six administrations — including Trump’s first term — states led by either party saw similar rates of approval, between 70% and 90%. The analysis also found the administration took twice as long to issue decisions on requests from blue states.

Pritzker said Congress should ensure FEMA doesn’t make decisions based on a state’s political leanings.

Other federal impacts

Denied disaster requests aren’t the only way federal changes are impacting Illinois’ ability to respond to severe weather.

At a news conference with Pritzker on Wednesday, Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, or MABAS, CEO Bernie Lyons, who leads the state’s mutual aid system for fire departments, said federal grant cuts are reducing rescue capabilities in Illinois.

“We will no longer be able to fund Illinois Water Rescue 1 in 2027,” Lyons said. “We may have to reduce our urban search and rescue team, Illinois Task Force 1, from a Type 1 team to a Type 3 team. That means fewer personnel, less training, less equipment, (and) much less capability.”

He said those are funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is the same department that oversees FEMA. Should funding continue to be a problem, he said Illinois fire departments could be forced to depend on out-of-state specialized rescue teams, which would significantly delay responses to emergencies.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.