Post by Logan on Jan 30, 2016 5:30:12 GMT -6
ST. LOUIS — Dozens of southern Illinois families still awaiting new housing after they accepted government buyouts following the 2011 Mississippi River flood instead got socked by another round of damage amid the prolonged political fight over the state's budget.
Alexander County officials estimate that several dozen homes approved for buyouts in spring 2015 suffered further damage from early-winter floods that toppled levees on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in Missouri and Illinois in late December and early January. Officials say roughly one dozen of those homes were occupied at the time.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources in June suspended a buyout program in which the state agreed to provide a 25 percent match to $9 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The order came as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration cut back programs during a deadlock over the budget with Democratic leaders in the legislature.
Rauner vowed Thursday to "do everything possible to help people and communities" in announcing that FEMA officials will come to Illinois next week to help assess the damage. His statement made no mention of the suspended buyout program.
Read more: www.sj-r.com/news/20160129/illinois-budget-tiff-means-more-flood-damage-before-buyouts
Alexander County officials estimate that several dozen homes approved for buyouts in spring 2015 suffered further damage from early-winter floods that toppled levees on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in Missouri and Illinois in late December and early January. Officials say roughly one dozen of those homes were occupied at the time.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources in June suspended a buyout program in which the state agreed to provide a 25 percent match to $9 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The order came as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration cut back programs during a deadlock over the budget with Democratic leaders in the legislature.
Rauner vowed Thursday to "do everything possible to help people and communities" in announcing that FEMA officials will come to Illinois next week to help assess the damage. His statement made no mention of the suspended buyout program.
Read more: www.sj-r.com/news/20160129/illinois-budget-tiff-means-more-flood-damage-before-buyouts