State senators tour flooded conditions along Mississippi

State Sen. Rachelle Crowe, D-Glen Carbon, toured cities along the Mississippi River that have been affected by the rising water over the last few weeks.

“It was motivating to see each community come together to manage the rising flood waters,” Crowe said. “I wanted to commend the first responders and volunteers that are working tirelessly to protect their homes, businesses and citizens. IEMA has also done a tremendous job organizing their efforts with the National Guard to keep state resources available for those who are struggling.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, Illinois’ Emergency Management Agency has provided more than three million sandbags, more than 2,700 rolls of plastic, 27 pumps and five dozen IDOC offenders to assist local communities as they fight rising floodwaters and protect our state’s critical infrastructure.

“The State of Illinois will use every resource at its disposal to protect our residents and our communities from devastating floods,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “As we continue to strengthen our levees in west-central Illinois, we must also plan and prepare for this force of nature to move downstream to our southern Illinois communities.”

For more information, visit www.ready.illinois.gov.

PHOTO: Local and state leaders gather with members of the Illinois National Guard in Grafton, Illinois, to take a helicopter tour of Mississippi River flood waters on Tuesday, June 4. Front row from left: John Sullivan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Sen. Rachelle Crowe and Sen. Steve McClure. Back row from left: members of the Illinois National Guard. Photo courtesy of Illinois Senate Democrats.