As federal aid for summer floods arrives, Mayor Brandon Johnson warns more extreme weather is coming: ‘Clearly, climate change is real’

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joined local and national officials Thursday to announce the rollout of federal disaster assistance for Illinois following a bout of extreme flooding this summer, warning that more climate-related disasters are bound for the city.

The disaster declaration from President Joe Biden on Tuesday stemmed from storms that barraged Cook County from June 29 to July 2 and will free up federal funding for the thousands who incurred damage, according to an announcement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Assistance offered includes temporary housing and repairs as well as “low-interest” loans to cover uninsured property.

Flanked by FEMA and county officials who explained the application process, Johnson took the microphone to deliver a vivid summation of the acute weather experienced by much of the U.S. this summer.

“Clearly, climate change is real,” the mayor said. “The earth is speaking loud and clear. Because at the time in which this unprecedented level of rain that fell, you had extreme heat in the western part of the country, well over 100 degrees. Wildfires breaking out. We had smoke coming in from Canada. We had floods coming. My wife said, ‘If the locusts come, Brandon, you better repent.’”

Storms during the period cited in the White House announcement dumped as much as 9 inches of rain in some parts of the Chicago area, flooding basements, making roads impassable and overwhelming the Deep Tunnel flood control system. Among the hardest-hit areas were the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side and the suburbs of Cicero, Berwyn and Stickney.

Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar, who represents the western suburbs, including especially Cicero, estimated more than 25,000 homes were damaged in his district alone.

“This is not the end,” Aguilar said. “We have a lot of work to do. Right now people are just cleaning up.”

Asked about some residents’ complaints that the city’s 311 assistance line was slow or unhelpful, Johnson defended the city’s response while again invoking his roots as an Austin resident who “has more of an incentive for the West Side of Chicago to come up out of the damage.”

“Now, look, it’s government,” Johnson said. “Are there systems that have to be strengthened? Of course. But make no mistake about it. ... We’re not going to leave people behind. We’re not just talking about constituents. These are our neighbors.”

Johnson also called for unspecified investments in Chicago’s infrastructure to gird the city against future flooding and other extreme weather stemming from climate change.

“The type of infrastructure that we’re going to need to transform the city of Chicago is quite apparent,” he said, “and that’s everything from removing lead pipes that have plagued our communities and has caused damage to making sure that, again, that we have mitigation in place to be able to address what is likely to be some level of reoccurrence.”

Residents and business owners who suffered damage from the storm can apply for help through DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or by using the FEMA app. Additional counties could be added to the disaster area and made eligible for assistance as damage assessments are completed.