Cook County will provide more than $850,000 to communities, including several in the south and southwest suburbs, to help pay cleanup costs associated with two days of severe weather in July 2024.
The July 14-15 storms spawned 38 tornadoes, a record for a 24-hour period, and 11 tornadoes were confirmed in Cook County, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds that in some areas exceeded 100 mph toppled trees and downed power lines, and thousands of Southland residents were without electricity days after the storms.
South Holland will receive the largest reimbursement among Southland communities, nearly $263,000, while almost $103,000 will go to Thornton.
Country Club Hills will receive nearly $176,000, Homewood will get a bit more than $79,000, Flossmoor $55,000 and Harvey nearly $40,000.
Oak Lawn will get a bit more than $11,000 while more than $10,000 will go to Tinley Park, nearly $9,000 to Robbins, $7,200 to Calumet City, and almost $3,000 to Orland Park.
The county said the money is coming from the county’s Disaster Response and Recovery Fund and intended to help offset costs incurred by communities to respond to the storms.
The funds will be distributed to towns that applied for eligible disaster response and recovery expenses.
“The storms and tornadoes last summer were a stark reminder of the increasing unpredictability of extreme weather events facing our communities as a result of climate change,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said in a news release.
Suburban Cook County municipalities submitted applications detailing their recovery expenses for reimbursement consideration including debris removal costs and damage to public infrastructure, the county said.
“By providing this funding, Cook County is empowering our municipalities to focus on rebuilding safely, with the assurance that critical recovery costs can be met,” Ted Berger, executive director of the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security, said in the release. “This funding reflects our commitment to helping communities recover and thrive, no matter the challenges they face.”
After the July storms, Cook County issued a disaster declaration in August, followed by declarations from Gov. JB Pritzker and President Joe Biden on Aug. 30 and Sept. 20.
The Weather Service confirmed tornadoes in suburbs including Country Club Hills, Crestwood, Flossmoor, Lockport, Matteson, Mokena and Oak Forest.
The severe weather forced ComEd to completely rebuild much of its electricity infrastructure in communities such as University Park, South Holland, Calumet City and Harvey.
