FEMA officials outlined at a press conference with officials from the Town of Cicero and Cook County on Wednesday July 26, 2023 at Morton College the process by which flood victims will receive Federal grant and loan support. Speakers included Tom Sivak, FEMA Region-5 Regional Administrator; Larry Dominick, Cicero Town President; Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar; Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon; Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps; Greg Nimmo, IEMA-OHS State Coordinating Officer Recovery Division Chief; and, Ted Berger, Executive Director of Cook County’s Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security. Sivak said that FEMA teams had arrived on Monday to complete an overview report that would determine if the Federal Government will provide financial support to homeowners in the Town of Cicero and in Stickney, Berwyn, and the Chicago neighborhood of Austin. The teams, which consist of FEMA experts, county and local representatives and bilingual translators, are selecting homes to visit based on the Damage Assessment Reports that were collected. Cicero collected nearly 7,000 property damage reports, but Sivak emphasized that they would not need to visit every property but only visit and inspect a selection in order to make their recommendation to the Federal Government. The final decision on whether or not residents will receive Federal financial support through FEMA will be made by President Joe Biden, the officials said.

Photo Credit: The Town of Cicero
Photo Caption: President Larry Dominick speaks at a FEMA and County Emergency Management press conference Wednesday July 26, 2023 at Morton College called to inform residents of the process being used to determine if Federal Assistance will be made available.