Four years ago, the Illinois river flooded — and it was pretty severe. Following the flood, the state government asked over 100 Illinois families to sell their homes in the flood zone. Due to a current budget crisis, the families are no longer expected to get some of the money that they were promised.
When the river flooded four years ago, it damaged so many homes that the state could no longer look away. The government offered to partially match the buyout of the homes of 111 families, with the interest that the homes be demolished and the families move to higher ground.
The families agreed, although some were somewhat reluctant. Now, four years later, the families are still dealing with the aftermath.
There is currently a battle going on over state budgets between Governor Bruce Rauner and the democrats who run the general assembly over the budget. In order to finance the demolition and pay the families that left their homes, a tax increase is necessary.
Governor Rauner plans to approve the tax increase only when the democrats begin to play by his rules. The issue is, Rauner generally has a very pro-business agenda and wants to weaken labor unions. Democrats argue that this will be bad for working people and those most vulnerable.
So, essentially, the governor and the democrats are at a stalemate. As soon as they can learn to resolve this issue, the tax increase can be approved and the lives of the affected families can go back to normal.
One member of the program who was involved in the buying of these houses was quoted as saying, “The problem with the whole thing is this money’s just sitting in a (state) bank account. There’s pretty much frustration across the board.”
Families are saying that they just want to move on from this 4-year long mess, and simply cannot get their money back. They are incredibly frustrated, and rightfully so.
These families did nothing wrong. There is no surefire way to prevent a flood — except maybe building a house on the top of a mountain. There is no way they could have expected such a severe flood, or that the state would push them to sell their houses. As they say, it’s simply the way the cookie crumbles.
Most floods are not of the severity of the flood that plagued these people four years ago. There are things you can do — not to prevent floods, but certainly to lessen their damage. Check out our previous blog post to see just how you can lessen flood damage. In addition, learn how to assess the flood risk of any property if you’re thinking of purchasing anytime soon.
Here at ProCare Restoration, we know that education and safety go hand in hand. Educate yourself about floods, and learn how to prevent future problems.
