President Trump denies FEMA help for Illinois after August storms, even after GOP Rep. LaHood asks in letter – CBS News

President Trump denies FEMA help for Illinois after August storms, even after GOP Rep. LaHood asks in letter  CBS News

Nearly two months after severe storms devastated parts of northern and central Illinois, President Trump denied Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's request for FEMA disaster assistance, despite a letter from Republican Rep. Darin LaHood asking for help.LaHood sent a letter to Mr. Trump asking him to issue a "major disaster declaration," which would allow for more resources to help recover, rebuild and repair damaged infrastructure.But the appeal apparently fell on deaf ears. Thursday, Gov. JB Pritzker's office said the Federal Emergency Management Agency officially denied the state's request, stating assistance for the affected counties was "not warranted.""Our communities are still picking up the pieces from the destruction caused by severe weather this summer.

Donald Trump should never play politics with their homes, businesses, and infrastructure," the governor said in a statement. Pritzker said the state will appeal the decision because of the extent of the damage, which includes not just personal property damage but also infrastructure damage, flooding, power outages and more. President Trump approved FEMA disaster assistance for Indiana, for damage from the same storms as Illinois after they traveled east across state lines, on Aug. 15, before the stretch of severe weather had even ended."When a massive storm system crosses state lines, the resulting damage should be evaluated fairly, consistently and based on the same objective standards and criteria,