City Asks For Disaster Money For Storm Clean-Up

By Soyoung Kwak in News on Jul 11, 2010 4:15PM

It has been quite a stormy summer season in Chicago thus far, and it appears Chicago could get repaid (in monetary form, of course) for all the damage Mother Nature left behind. The city is asking for $2.8 million to cover the costs of the damage that was incurred:

Mayor Richard Daley proclaimed the week of June 18 as a natural disaster in Chicago. If the governor declares that period a disaster, and the federal government agrees, the city could be eligible for outside funding to recover some of its costs.

Jose Santiago, the executive director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communication, said that Chicago has dealt with 12,329 "tree emergency" situations, fallen power poles, and thousands of people who were without power during storms (and other hardships) since June 18. Like those broken windows at the Willis Tower. The towns of Dwight and Streator were recently denied FEMA aid money to assist in cleanup following tornadoes earlier this summer.