Political Quotes

“before I give a statement on another topic, I would like to note that we continue to focus on the damage that was caused last Sunday by deadly tornadoes and storms in Illinois, estimated to have exceeded $1 billion in cost. We have seen some scenes from that wreckage in places such as Washington, IL--the hardest hit in our State. They experienced an EF4 tornado, with wind speeds close to 200 miles an hour. I can recall one news report where a man went home and could not find his SUV--an indication of the ferocity and the intensity of the winds that wiped a swath of devastation through this great town in central Illinois. Power lines are still down, and there are gas leaks. There is still danger there. But the first responders were there. The obvious helpers, the Red Cross and Salvation Army, are on the scene. Federal, State, and local agencies are pitching in. Equally important--I spoke to the mayor--the people are pitching in. Those who survived are helping those who have had the most damage: finding them a place to sleep, making sure they have enough to eat, trying to put their lives back together and go through the salvage and recover the important items to their families. The EF4 that tore through Washington was one of two that touched down in my State that day. The other one struck New Minden, which is down near the metro East St. Louis area, and caused unbelievable damage. All told, 84 tornadoes were reported throughout the Midwest on Sunday.…”