Political Quotes

“I grew up in East Saint Louis, IL, on the banks of the Mississippi River. As a child, it was a dominant feature in my life--crossing that river, watching that river. It didn't take long as I grew up to realize that that river has a mind of its own. Last year, because of drought conditions in the Midwest, the Mississippi River was so low in January and February of 2013 that the Army Corps of Engineers had to come out on an emergency basis and literally scour the bottom of the river of rock formation so that navigation could continue. We were worried that we would have to shut down this major economic artery in the Midwest because the river was so low. The Army did a great job. The navigation continued with only slight delays and no major interruptions. Within 60 to 90 days, that same river was at flood stage. That is what those of us who grew up in the Midwest come to expect and understand--the unpredictability of that river. As we grew up and started to look around, we realized there were bluffs behind us that at one point were the banks of this great river and that we were living in the flood plain, if you will--that area close to the river that once was totally under water, way back when. So there were flooding episodes, as most communities went through, and efforts made to deal with that flooding, including the building of levees. Those levees, for the most part, on the Illinois side of the river have been reliable.…”