Political Quotes

“Madam President, I want to draw attention to the major flooding going on in Illinois at this moment, particularly in Chicago and its suburbs but not exclusively. It is affecting downstate as well. Hundreds of families have been evacuated from their homes, and more than 30,000 people are without power and we are experiencing a major storm. The Rock, Fox, DuPage, Illinois, and Mississippi Rivers have overtopped their banks, damaging hundreds, if not thousands, of homes and businesses. Several levees are near the breaking point. In many areas, the flooding is so bad it exceeds what we saw during the major floods in 2008 and in 1987. The ground is so saturated that a sinkhole in Chicago swallowed three cars this morning, and Libertyville High School has sunk a foot into the muddy soil. More than 300 flights have been cancelled out of O'Hare and Midway Airports, and hundreds of schools in and around Chicago were closed today because of dangerously high water. People along the Des Plains and Fox Rivers in Grundy, Kane, and LaSalle Counties have been evacuated--and the evacuations are ongoing. More than 30 major roads in northeastern Illinois are closed due to flooding. Heavy rain has completely filled the large underground flood control system known as the Deep Tunnel in Chicago. This project was designed to handle sewer backup problems and water pollution in Cook County.…”