HR0402 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0402 LRB099 11915 GRL 34113 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The November 17, 2013 tornado outbreak was the deadliest and costliest in Illinois to occur in the month of November and fourth largest for the State overall; and

WHEREAS, Severe weather during the tornado outbreak caused over 100 injuries and 11 fatalities, 8 of which were tornado related; and

WHEREAS, With damage estimated at approximately $1.6 billion, the tornado outbreak became the seventh weather event and fifth tornado outbreak in the United States to accrue over $1 billion in damage that year; and

WHEREAS, Tornadoes alone were responsible for $1.067 billion in damage, with the EF4 tornado that struck Washington, Illinois accounting for $935 million of the total; and

WHEREAS, On January 9, 2014, the Federal Emergency Management Agency notified the State that it was denying a $6.1 million request for local governments on the grounds that the damage wasn't severe enough; this decision impacted Champaign, Douglas, Grundy, Massac, Tazewell, Vermilion, Washington, Wayne, and Woodford counties; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Emergency Management Agency twice denied disaster funding to Harrisburg after it was demolished by tornadoes in 2012; and

WHEREAS, Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk have introduced the Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act; both senators say that the current system for delivering federal disaster assistance funds discriminates against smaller communities in states with large population centers; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Congress to pass the Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act to ensure that Illinois residents who are impacted by deadly and destructive weather receive the level of assistance that they require; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, and the members of the Illinois congressional delegation.