Summary of the article
- President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected Gov. JB Pritzker’s request for federal disaster relief following August’s high winds, tornadoes and flooding.
- This is the third time during Trump’s second term that FEMA has denied Illinois’ request for aid.
- FEMA aid would have unlocked grants and other programs for residents and local governments to make repairs and pay for cleanup.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday rejected the request for federal disaster relief to eight Illinois counties after days of severe weather battered the state in August.
Gov. JB Pritzker submitted a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency last month for resources to help the eight counties recover from flooding, tornadoes and severe wind damage. FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton said in a response letter that the aid was “not warranted,” according to the governor’s office.
“Our communities are still picking up the pieces from the destruction caused by this summer’s severe weather,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Donald Trump should never play politics with their homes, businesses and infrastructure.”
The governor’s request covered Champaign, Cook, Ford, Fulton, McLean, Tazewell, Vermilion and Will counties. This came after the state conducted a preliminary damage assessment and determined that the damages were beyond the state’s ability to handle on its own and argued that it needed to meet the threshold for federal assistance.
On Aug. 11, a storm brought tornadoes and wind gusts approaching 100 mph in southern Cook and Will counties, according to the National Weather Service. Many of these same communities were hit by tornadoes and high winds on July 27 and were still recovering.
On Aug. 25, FEMA granted Indiana’s request for federal assistance following the same Aug. 11 storm that left many residents across the border without power for weeks.
Additional storms on Aug. 13 caused significant wind damage in McLean County, where the Normal Fire Department said it set a new record for most calls in a 24-hour shift. Many central Illinois communities reported flooding from another round of storms on August 14.
Illinois submitted its disaster declaration on September 15. Pritzker said the delay was necessary to get a clearer accounting of the damage, although his Republican challenger Darren Bailey criticized him for not submitting it sooner.
On Thursday, Bailey released a statement saying he was also “disappointed” by FEMA’s decision.
“I am calling on FEMA to reevaluate and reverse this decision to ensure that American workers who live in our state get the help they desperately need,” Bailey said.
Had FEMA approved Pritzker’s request, it would have unlocked several federal programs for residents and businesses affected by the storms, including grants for repairs. Local governments also could have used FEMA’s public assistance program to repair infrastructure and receive reimbursements for debris removal and emergency storm responses.
Blue State Denials
Every member of Illinois’ congressional delegation, including all three Republicans, also signed a letter to Trump supporting Pritzker’s request.
“Just like a toddler throwing a tantrum, Donald Trump continues to punish Americans who live in states that did not support him in the last election,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat, said Thursday in response to FEMA’s decision.
This is the third time FEMA has denied an Illinois request since Trump took office in 2025. Last year, the Trump administration rejected two requests for aid after summer storms caused severe flooding in the Chicago area. Pritzker criticized the decisions as “politically motivated,” although FEMA denied this in media statements. The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved low-interest loans for businesses affected by flooding.
The SBA also approved Pritzker’s application from earlier this year, following the spring tornadoes. Illinois has experienced more than 200 tornadoes this year, more than any other state.
A Politico analysis earlier this year found that Democratic-led states saw only 23% of their disaster claims granted during his second term, compared to 89% for Republican states. Under the last six administrations – including Trump’s first term – states led by either party have seen similar approval ratings, between 70% and 90%. The analysis also found that the administration took twice as long to issue decisions on requests from blue states.
The Trump administration sought to raise the event eligibility threshold for FEMA disaster aid by 50%, which would have reduced the federal government’s spending on disaster relief by $1.5 billion between 2012 and 2025, according to NPR.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service that distributes coverage of state government to hundreds of media outlets across the state. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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