South Cook News

State Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove), like many others, is waiting to see how the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will respond to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's request for a disaster declaration in DuPage County following a tornado touchdown there last month.

Curran promised that when he hears what the SBA's response will be, he'll say so.

"The request for the disaster declaration has been made, and if received, those who have to rebuild after the June 20 tornadoes will be able to secure low-interest, long-term loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration," Curran said in a Facebook post late last week. "When a decision on the declaration is made, I will share the news with constituents."

At the time of this post, no further updates about the request have been posted to Curran's Facebook page.

Curran also announced Pritzker's request to the SBA in a separate statement.

Pritzker also announced his request on Facebook and in a statement.

"I submitted a request to the U.S. Small Business Administration seeking a disaster declaration to help DuPage County residents in the wake of the recent storms," Pritzker said in his July 9 Facebook post. "We're doing everything we can at the state level to help the community get back on their feet faster and stronger."

In his statement issued the previous day, Pritzker said a SBA disaster declaration would allow eligible DuPage County residents and businesses, as well as contiguous counties, to apply for low-interest, long-term loans.

"Recent storms have upended the daily lives of DuPage County residents, impacting family homes and local businesses. Multiple state agencies have been on the ground working closely with community leaders to provide critical support as residents begin the process of rebuilding," Pritzker said in the statement. "Receiving a disaster declaration from the U.S. SBA would provide an additional level of needed support to the community and help residents get back on their feet faster and stronger."

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency has already been working with the local jurisdictions on an extensive damage assessment of the affected area, the statement said.

"While the damage did not meet the threshold for a federal disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the State believes the threshold has been met for the SBA," Pritzker's statement said. "To be eligible for an SBA declaration, at least 25 homes and/or businesses in a county must sustain major, uninsured losses of 40 percent or more."

Pritzker's request to the SBA has the support of the 14 U.S. House members that make up Illinois' delegation who sent a letter, as did U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), urging the administration to respond favorably to Pritzker's request.

"Assisting these residents in recovery is of utmost importance, and Governor Pritzker has determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of state and local governments," Durbin and Duckworth said in their letter to the SBA dated two days earlier.

The requests came after an EF-3 tornado touched down in DuPage County on June 20. The SBA already has conducted a damage assessment from the storm and found 79 DuPage County properties sustained major damage or were destroyed, according to Durbin and Duckworth's letter.