ST. LOUIS (AP) – 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 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 which the state agreed to provide a 25 percent match to $9 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The order came as 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.
“I am so stressed out,” said Jean Ratliffe, 76, whose home in Hodges Park was invaded by several inches of water in the recent flood after 4 to 5 feet of water overtook the house in the 2011 inundation.