Mayor Eric Gregg of downstate Harrisburg, Ill. said he will move quickly to appeal the Federal Emergency Management Authority decision not to provide federal disaster relief to the town and other parts of Southern Illinois hit hard by severe tornadoes last month. more ›

Todd Stroger, the beloved President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, today issued a reminder via press release that December 2, 2008 is the deadline to apply for FEMA assistance for disaster relief stemming from this fall's flooding. According to the release, "To date, more than 30,000 businesses and residents have filed a claim through FEMA for assistance in the wake of this fall’s catastrophic flooding, with FEMA disbursing $35 million to impacted counties, including Cook. A full 88% of those funds – $33.5 million – have been disbursed to Cook County residents alone." To apply, call FEMA at 1-800 621-FEMA (3362). more ›