Pritzker appeals FEMA’s decision to deny Illinois disaster aid
[November 07, 2026] By
Ben Szalinski
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker appealed the Trump administration’s
decision to deny Illinois’ request for federal disaster relief on
Thursday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied Illinois’ request last
month without explanation for federal resources to respond to August
storms. In an appeal submitted to the agency, the state provided updated
damage numbers showing the storm cost eligible for public assistance is
now $43 million — up from $27.6 million in the original request and well
above FEMA’s $24.9 million standard.
“Our challenge has been what’s the standard?” Deputy Gov. Bria Scudder
told Capitol News Illinois. “It seems as though this administration is
playing politics with disaster assistance and of course that’s not part
of the appeal, but it doesn’t change our responsibility to the people
that have been affected.”
Pritzker submitted a request to FEMA last month seeking resources to
help the eight counties recover from flooding, tornadoes and severe wind
damage in mid-August. The governor’s request covered Champaign, Cook,
Ford, Fulton, McLean, Tazewell, Vermilion and Will counties.
The state’s original request showed Illinois met FEMA’s criteria to
qualify for relief, but some areas of the state did not meet FEMA’s
threshold alone, including Cook and three other counties.
In its appeal, the state said more information is now available that
shows six of the eight impacted counties, including Cook, meet their
thresholds for disaster relief. The state also said the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency has been able to fully account for all costs
from the storms, including debris removal, which was not yet complete in
September. It also notes FEMA has validated costs by reviewing contracts
and other payments.
The document also describes significant damage not previously disclosed
to FEMA, including damaged hospitals, police and fire stations, and
washed out roads throughout the state, as well as a levy in Fulton
County that needs to be repaired from flooding. The state says more
people need help since it first requested FEMA’s assistance as people
have had insurance claims denied.
It also notes that many of the affected areas have been repeatedly
struck by severe storms in recent years, allowing costs to add up, and
FEMA denied other requests for aid. The state itself has spent $3.4
million responding to the most recent storm, but Cook County has spent
more than $8 million.
Officials from Cook, Fulton, McLean, Vermilion, Ford, Will and Champaign
counties, along with local officials from Cuba and Normal, submitted
statements to FEMA describing their needs. Eighteen state lawmakers,
including 12 Republicans, submitted statements supporting Pritzker’s
appeal.
“Local governments cannot be left to pay for the full financial burden
of these horrific storms as they recover and repair critical
infrastructure and continue to provide the essential services residents
urgently need,” Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, wrote. “Please reconsider the
decision and approve the State of Illinois’ appeal for a Major Disaster
Declaration. Federal assistance is urgently needed so the impacted
communities can recover and rebuild.”
It’s not clear when the state will hear back. Scudder said FEMA has
taken longer to respond under Trump than in previous administrations.
Indiana received federal emergency aid for an emergency request
resulting from the same storm system after Gov. Mike Braun asked for
immediate aid while thousands went weeks without power. Illinois didn’t
request financial help until mid-September because immediate assistance
wasn’t required.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure that we are able to make our best
case to getting that assistance and sometimes that takes a little bit of
time,” Scudder said.
In previous disasters, the state has found more success with the U.S.
Small Business Administration, which has different standards and
provides different types assistance, namely low-interest loans. Though
that’s been successful for other, usually smaller storms, Scudder said
FEMA is still the preferred option because it provides a greater level
of help.
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Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, left, and Gov. JB Pritzker, center,
listen to a speaker at a news conference in Chicago on Nov. 4, 2026.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Maggie Dougherty)
FEMA’s future
Beyond getting help for this year’s storms, Pritzker is worried the
Trump administration will make it harder for states to qualify for
disaster assistance.
Politico reported in October that FEMA wants shift responsibility for
disasters to the states, with only the costliest damages qualifying for
federal assistance. FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton argued states
will be able to recover more quickly on their own if they don’t wait for
federal action. Significantly increasing the cost threshold states must
meet could put Illinoisans on the hook for tens of millions of dollars
each year in costs that would’ve previously been eligible for FEMA to
cover.
“The ones that we are requesting help for are our state’s worst storms.
We are constantly responding to storms,” Scudder said. “This is where we
really need help. The state is doing a lot constantly just because of
weather changes and emergencies that come up.”
In a 200-point plan Pritzker unveiled Wednesday that he wants the new
Democratic Congress to tackle, the governor said ” FEMA should adopt
more specific and transparent thresholds” for relief and ” should not
use ‘reform’ as justification to limit assistance eligibility or cut
support under the guise of shifting programs to the states.”
“What we really need is clarity, consistency and predictability,”
Scudder said. “Tell us what the standard is so it can be applied fairly
across states.”
A Politico analysis earlier this year found Democrat-led states saw just
23% of their disaster requests granted in his second term, compared to
89% for Republican states. Under the past six administrations —
including Trump’s first term — states led by either party saw similar
rates of approval, between 70% and 90%. The analysis also found the
administration took twice as long to issue decisions on requests from
blue states.
Pritzker said Congress should ensure FEMA doesn’t make decisions based
on a state’s political leanings.
Other federal impacts
Denied disaster requests aren’t the only way federal changes are
impacting Illinois’ ability to respond to severe weather.
At a news conference with Pritzker on Wednesday, Mutual Aid Box Alarm
System, or MABAS, CEO Bernie Lyons, who leads the state’s mutual aid
system for fire departments, said federal grant cuts are reducing rescue
capabilities in Illinois.
“We will no longer be able to fund Illinois Water Rescue 1 in 2027,”
Lyons said. “We may have to reduce our urban search and rescue team,
Illinois Task Force 1, from a Type 1 team to a Type 3 team. That means
fewer personnel, less training, less equipment, (and) much less
capability.”
He said those are funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, which is the same department that oversees FEMA. Should
funding continue to be a problem, he said Illinois fire departments
could be forced to depend on out-of-state specialized rescue teams,
which would significantly delay responses to emergencies.
Capitol News Illinois
is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state
government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded
primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick
Foundation.
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