Naperville agreement the last step in funding yard replacement work two years after the 2021 tornado
Naperville families who live in the area of Ranchview Drive and 75th Street know to tread carefully, if at all, to avoid the glass, metal and wood embedded in their yards by an EF3 tornado that struck Father’s Day night two years ago.
Relief could be on the way soon through $1.5 million in grants from the state of Illinois and city of Naperville that can be use to replace the soil where homeowners say shards seem to grow whenever it rains.
The state committed $1 million to fill financial gaps in homeowner’s insurance that typically doesn’t cover environmental yard cleanup, including landscape remediation and replacement.
The Naperville City Council was to do the same Tuesday, the two-year anniversary of the tornado, by signing off on an agreement to give up to $500,000 to Naperville-based nonprofit M.P. Foundation on behalf of the Naperville Tornado Relief Fund.
Kristy Kennedy, co-founder of Naperville Tornado Relief, estimated that more than 70 families have applied for some type of yard work.
“We’re also going through the homeowner applications and making sure they are complete before we sit down early next week to determine funding,” Kennedy said.
In April, the council directed staff to figure out where the money will come from and to work out the arrangements for the transfer.
Under the agreement, the city will contribute up to $500,000 in $125,000 increments after the foundation has exhausted the $1 million state grant.
Kennedy said her group this week completed the state’s application process to access the funding through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
That grant was secured by state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, in January during the Legislature’s lame duck session.
The city also stipulates the money must be used by the foundation for environmental cleanup in response to applications submitted by Naperville property owners whose properties are located within the designated boundary.
Naperville Tornado Relief established criteria to determine which properties would qualify for state and city grants.
“By restoring yards through this environmental cleanup initiative, we’re also restoring this community that has been working to rebuild for the last two years,” Kennedy said. “Children will be able to safely play; pets can go out; and families can enjoy their yards again.”
Naperville’s contribution will come from the city’s general fund.
Marcie Schatz, assistant to the city manager, said in a memo to the council that staff will transfer the money into an escrow account from which the relief payments will be made over the term of the agreement, which ends in December 2025.
Excess revenues in 2022 added more than $14 million to the general fund’s cash balance, which currently exceeds the 25% reserve goal established by the council in 2015.
Kennedy said they’re thankful to the city and the state, particularly Stava-Murray, for aiding the recovery effort.
“I want to point out that the area received no disaster relief because it didn’t qualify, despite the level of destruction,” she said.
