FEMA's Disaster Recovery Office Now Open

(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park floods-- Record-breaking rains. )

I received this message from the office of Alderman Marge Laurino:

FEMA Disaster Recovery Center
Opens In Albany Park


The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the state of Illinois. Homeowners, renters and business owners affected by the Albany Park floods of September 13-14, 2008 may be eligible to receive federal assistance.

To serve the needs of the affected residents, Alderman Laurino, State Representative John D'Amico, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, and the city's Office of Management and Communications worked with FEMA to open an office in the Albany Park community. The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Albany Park will provide face-to-face assistance to those who suffered damage.

The center will be located at:
Northeastern Illinois University
Physical Education Building
3600 W. Foster Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625


The center will open at noon, Tuesday, October 7. Starting Wednesday, October 8, the hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week, until further notice.

Residents should register with FEMA before visiting the center. There are two ways to register: log on to www.fema.gov or call FEMA's toll free number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Both numbers are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m, seven days a week, until further notice. Residents should register only once; duplicate registrations may cause delays in the delivery of assistance.

Before going to the center, residents should bring identification, Social Security numbers, insurance information, proof of address and contact phone numbers in order to help speed up the assistance process.

Services people can expect to receive at the disaster recovery center include:

* Guidance regarding disaster recovery;
* Clarification of any written correspondence received;
* Housing Assistance and Rental Resource information;
* Answers to questions, resolution to problems and referrals to agencies that may provide further assistance;
* Status of applications being processed by FEMA;
* U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) program information; and
* Information from representatives of other federal, state, and local agencies.

More information is available online at www.fema.gov.


Special thanks to President Sharon Hahs and the staff of Northeastern Illinois University for working with FEMA to find a location for our local disaster recovery office. We appreciate their dedication to the Albany Park community.

If you want to subscribe to this e-newsletter, click on the link below or sign up at www.AldermanLaurino.com

There is also an article about the office on the ChiTown Daily news site:

Chicago storm victims seek relief through FEMA .

Thanks for the heads up on that article, Craig!

(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: FEMA's Temporary Office at Northeastern Illinois University. )

Senator Durbin and the Press Conference

(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park floods-- Record-breaking rains. )

I was walking about the neighborhood Monday morning. We still had 3 feet of water in our basement, and there was still not much that we could do.

I walked up on the bridge by the bike trail and noticed hordes of reporters and cameras. I heard that a press conference had been called for 11:30, just the time that I was taking my walk. The cameramen tend to be tall... I think it's probably a necessity in that business.

So I hung around. Senator Dick Durbin was there, along with our Alderman Marge Laurino. Someone said that our other Illinois senator, Barack Obama, had sent a representative, but I'm not sure who that was. City officials talked about when they opened the locks, why they had to wait, what they were going to do, much of which I could not hear.

They talked to homeowners, talked about getting federal disaster money, talked about projects that might have (or might still) prevent such a calamity in the future. The homes below them, on the 5000 block of Monticello were still surrounded by water.

Next part of the story: The Albany Park Flood Water is gone!

Here's a few news clips from that press conference:

Fox clip

ABC local clip

Chicagoist clip

Sun Times article

WGN radio