Gov. Pat Quinn has asked the Obama administration to deem 11 counties in Illinois disaster areas as a result of the heavy rainfall that swept through the state in April.
A one-mile long underground pipeline on the Northwest Side of Chicago
aimed at alleviate flooding is in the works, and construction could
start as early as next year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other Illinois lawmakers announced Sunday.
Gov. Pat Quinn declared 38 counties state disaster areas yesterday
after surveying flood damage from torrential rain that swept through
Illinois. The disaster declaration will accelerate and
expand access to state emergency resources as well as allow the state to
seek relief and support from the federal government.
Northern Mexico is in the grips of one of the worst droughts in its
history. Acres upon acres of crops have been wiped out so far, and more
than two million people are without reliable water.
Extreme
weather events like what’s happening in northern Mexico will likely
become the norm in years to come as a result of climate change, leading to
an influx of “climate refugees” forced to leave their homes due to
unlivable conditions, said Jerry Mead-Lucero of the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization.
“The
conditions we’re seeing now are the future,” Mead-Lucero said at Wednesday night’s climate change and migration discussion at Casa Michoacán in
Pilsen.
About three to five inches of heavy rain has fallen on Chicagoland in
the last 24 hours, and another one to two inches are expected,
prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning in
DuPage and Cook Counties.
City Water, Light and Power (CWLP) will repay nearly $800,000 in tornado damage reimbursements that the federal government says the utility shouldn’t have received.
A winter season that has thus far been defined by a record number of
snowless days and unseasonably warm temperatures has experts, advocates
and some of Illinois’ newly-elected congressional lawmakers raising
concerns over the kind of impact such conditions will ultimately have on
the environment.
At 320 days, Chicago broke a 72-year record last week for the consecutive number of days without an inch of snowfall, the
impact of which has already resulted in record low water levels in
Lake Michigan and parts of the Mississippi River, according to Natural Resources Defense Council spokesman Josh Mogerman.
“There’s
a new normal, and we have to start being cognizant of the change going
on around us,” Mogerman said. “There are things going on around us
right now in this moment that are really clear and clarion calls for
paying attention and making clear that climate change has already begun
and we need to address it.”
Obama administration Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has
added to the list of counties classified as disaster areas due to the
historically destructive summer drought. The majority of American
counties are now deemed disaster areas, including 98 of 102 in Illinois, with the
urban and suburban counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane and Will not getting
the designation.
Gov. Pat Quinn pushed
for the disaster designation. After all, it’s hard for government to
immediately respond – neither Obama nor Quinn can make it rain – and the
disaster tag indicates acknowledgement of a serious problem.
As Illinois continues to linger in the midst of one of its worst
droughts in more than two decades, its greatest impact might be felt in
the price of food, as a substantial portion of the state’s corn crop
could be jeopardized if conditions fail to improve.
Northern Mexico is in the grips of one of the worst droughts in its
history. Acres upon acres of crops have been wiped out so far, and more
than two million people are without reliable water.
A winter season that has thus far been defined by a record number of
snowless days and unseasonably warm temperatures has experts, advocates
and some of Illinois’ newly-elected congressional lawmakers raising
concerns over the kind of impact such conditions will ultimately have on
the environment.
Obama administration Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has
added to the list of counties classified as disaster areas due to the
historically destructive summer drought. The majority of American
counties are now deemed disaster areas, including 98 of 102 in Illinois, with the
urban and suburban counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane and Will not getting
the designation.
