AURORA, Ill. – The state of Illinois was notified Thursday afternoon that 24 counties are eligible for Public Assistance as part of the federal disaster declaration for severe storms, straight-line winds and flooding during the period of April 16 to May 5, 2013.

FEMA approved Governor Pat Quinn’s request to make public assistance available in the following Illinois counties:  Adams, Bureau, Clark, Crawford, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McHenry, Mercer, Ogle, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Warren and Woodford.

This announcement means that the cities, counties, and certain private nonprofit organizations can be reimbursed for eligible costs incurred after severe storms and flooding that occurred April 16 to May 5. Categories of eligible work that may be funded by FEMA are debris removal, emergency protective measures, repair or replacement of roads and bridges, water control facilities, buildings and equipment, utilities, and parks and recreational facilities.

Public assistance is a cost-sharing program with FEMA paying 75 percent. The remainder is the responsibility of the state and local governments.

The May 10 major disaster declaration already includes the Individual Assistance program – financial assistance for homeowners and renters – in 33 Illinois counties, including:  Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Clark, Cook, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kane, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Peoria, Pike, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford.

Federal Hazard Mitigation funding for the entire state was included in the original disaster declaration on May 10.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Media Contact: 571-408-1835