Joan Douglas said her 16-year-old daughter was in a bedroom at their Homewood home when a tree branch crashed through the roof during a storm last month.
Douglas pulled her out and the family rushed to the basement as an EF1 tornado swept through the village on Aug. 11. The 16-year-old was not injured.
Weeks later, the home remains damaged, with holes in the roof, mold growing inside and branches still scattered across the backyard.
“We’re trying our best to get things fixed, but we’re struggling,” said Douglas, 38.
Local, state and federal representatives walked through Douglas’ neighborhood Wednesday morning, speaking with homeowners about the damage their homes sustained during last month’s storms as they gathered information to support a request for relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
State officials asked FEMA last week to conduct preliminary damage assessments in the eight counties across Illinois impacted by the storms from Aug. 11-16.
“We’re going to impacted neighborhoods and we’re looking to validate the damage that has been reported,” said Kim Keblish, public affairs specialist for FEMA. “So we’re looking to have conversations with residents to understand the severity and the magnitude and the impact of these storms.”
The assessments began Monday and are expected to continue through the rest of the week. Once they are completed, state officials will analyze the data and determine whether federal assistance is needed.
If they determine it is, Gov. JB Pritzker will request a major disaster declaration and ask the Trump administration for relief funds.
But there is concern the Trump administration could deny the request, as it has in the past.
Earlier this year, Illinois sued the Trump administration after FEMA denied funding for flood relief in Chicago and the suburbs, where storms last summer caused widespread flooding and overwhelmed sewer systems.
Workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Small Business Administration, Cook County Emergency Management and Regional Security, and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Illinois Office of Homeland Security go door-to-door in the 1900 block of Jodi Terrace in far south suburban Homewood to assess storm damage, Wednesday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Illinois experienced “multi-hazard events” during last month’s storms. Some homeowners dealt with flooding, while others were left with downed trees and roof damage caused by strong winds.
In the Douglas’ case, they experienced it all.
Douglas said their basement flooded with ankle-deep water. It also took a week for the tree to be removed and the hole in the roof to be patched. That’s a whole week during which water continued to leak into the home, forcing contractors to cut into the ceiling to dry it out.
“I’m overwhelmed,” said homeowner Olivia Douglas, Joan Douglas’ mother. “It gives me anxiety just looking at all the holes in my house.”
Douglas said her parents received $700 from the Red Cross, not enough to cover the cost of repairs. Federal assistance, she said, would help bring them one step closer to getting their home back to normal.
Next door, Cathie Perlick, 68, said the storms knocked down trees in her backyard, damaged her fence and tore away some of the siding on her home.
“It’s scary,” said Perlick. “I need help. I’m older and on a fixed budget.”
Because of her limited budget, Perlick said she hasn’t been able to hire someone to clear the branches from her backyard.
Perlick, who has lived in her home in the 19000 block of Jodi Terrace for 36 years, said she’s never experienced storms as damaging as those last month.
Greg Nimmo, recovery division chief at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, said thousands of people were impacted by the storms. He said state officials are gathering as much information as possible to present their case to Pritzker’s office in hopes of securing federal help.
“We are putting all the cards on the table, giving everything we got,” said Nimmo. “Our goal is to put a strong package together and do everything we can to bring some type of federal assistance.”