Political Quotes

“As we consider the FY 1999 VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations bill, I would like to call your attention to the serious flooding problems that continue to plague the City of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, and to urge your consideration to provide funding for a system of flood control tunnels designed to mitigate these weather-related problems. For years, severe thunderstorms have caused extensive flooding in the Chicago area due to the antiquated storm drainage system that serves the region. The drainage system, also linked to the sewage system, is quickly filled to capacity and overwhelmed during storm events, resulting in sewage backflows into Lake Michigan and the basements of thousands of homes. This flooding creates major public health hazards, leaves neighborhoods without electrical power, and causes disruptions of major transportation thoroughfares. These kind of flooding emergencies will continue to plague the City of Chicago and neighboring communities until the construction of an important system of tunnels and reservoirs is completed. This system is known as the Tunnel and Reservoir plan (TARP), an initiative of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.”