This Week's Meetings

This Week's Meetings

DuPage Opening Call Center Saturday for Unincorporated DuPage

DuPage Opening Call Center Saturday for Unincorporated DuPage Residents to Document Flood Damage

Wheaton … Starting Saturday, unincorporated DuPage residents and business owners are encouraged to provide information about their flood damage to the County to initiate a process to potentially access federal disaster assistance funding.

 

“Now that the rain seems to have stopped for the time being, residents and businesses can start to assess their properties. It is important that they document and photograph the flood damage to show proof of loss. Another step in documenting the flood damage is to report to the federal government the total loss to the entire county so that we can attempt to access federal funding,” said DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin.

 

DuPage County will open a call center from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday to gather information about property damage from residents who reside in unincorporated neighborhoods. The call center will re-open on Monday during regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Residents and business owners will be asked to provide specific information about where the flooding occurred, how much water entered the premises, structure damage and if they have insurance.

 

Residents who reside in a municipality should call their local government to provide the same information. The DuPage County call center is only for residents who reside in the unincorporated areas.

 

The information gathered from residents and business owners will be provided to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency as officials assess the entire state. The assessment could lead to a presidential disaster declaration that would provide reimbursements for uninsured property damage.

 

Cronin said the information provided by residents is essential in the county and the state seeking the federal funding.

 

For more information and to report flood damage to unincorporated areas, call (630) 407-6700.

 

Visit ProtectDuPage.org for more information about flood recovery and the potential for financial assistance.

DuPage Update Regarding Flood Event

DuPage Update Regarding Flood Event We are currently experiencing one of the larger storm events the area has seen in some time. The amount of rainfall produced by these storms has caused many inconveniences throughout DuPage County, including severe weather and flooding. Earlier today, I signed an emergency declaration to expedite the County’s accessibility to cleanup and emergency resources, including generators, pumps and sandbags. While the severe weather seems to have ceased for the time being, we are not out of the woods. We have yet to see peaks in the rivers and streams throughout the County, so the flood control facilities will stay in operation well into Friday. Accordingly, many roads remain impassible throughout the County. Although the DuPage County government campus was closed today, staff is continuing operations to ensure the safety of our residents. Stormwater Management has been closely monitoring and operating the flood control facilities and providing regular forecast updates and models. Their real time updates stream and facility updates can be found atec.dupageco.org/dec/stormwater/watershed/index.html. Likewise, the DuPage County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has been running their Emergency Operation Center since Wednesday afternoon to inform and assist residents. In addition to providing information on road closures and safety tips, OEM partnered with the American Red Cross to maintain an emergency shelter at Benedictine University in Lisle for residents experiencing flooding or evacuations.  The County also provided more than 100,000 sandbags to municipalities for residents to protect their properties from flood water. We are also working with federal and state officials to access emergency assistance and resources both during and after this storm event. Residents are reminded to document flood damages with photos and save any receipts for damage-related materials. Most importantly, please stay safe this evening by following these recommendations: •          Avoid floodwaters. Do not let children play in the water. •          Be aware of areas where water has receded as roadways may have weakened. •          Avoid downed power lines and water where power lines may have fallen. •          Discard food that may have been contaminated. •          Check on sewage systems. If damaged, these can be a serious hazard. For more information about road closures, the emergency shelter, etc., please visitwww.ProtectDuPage.org. Here are some additional resources that may be helpful: DuPage County News & Updates National Weather Service for DuPage County Metra Service Updates Federal Aviation Administration Flight Delays DuPage County’s government campus will re-open tomorrow. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the County at (630) 407-6500 with any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Dan Cronin DuPage County Chairman

COUNTY SHELTER OPEN TO ASSIST RESIDENTS

COUNTY SHELTER OPEN TO ASSIST RESIDENTS

Through a partnership with the American Red Cross, DuPage County has opened its emergency shelter at Benedictine University in Lisle, 5700 College Road, to assist residents who have experienced flooding in their homes.

Bad Weather

UPDATE:  DuPage website is up and running.  DuPage County 421 Building closed for the day for more information please click here:
www.ProtectDuPage.org

If I can be of assistance to anyone please feel free to contact me at 630-518-6740.

Clean Water Initiative

This afternoon in Downers Grove, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin introduced The 2013 Illinois Clean Water Initiative.  Governor Quinn announced that The Clean Water Initiative will  make $1 billion available through the Illinois Protection Agency's State Revolving Fund, in partnership with the Illinois Finance Authority, in low cost loans to local governments.

The Clean Water Initiative is good for the community by keeping our drinking water safe. Cleaning wastewater discharge into public waterways.  Decreasing energy costs. Meeting the high need for dealing with aging infrastructure and creating jobs.

The event was well attended.  Other than Chairman Cronin and myself the DuPage County Board was represented by Sean Noonan, District 2 and Jim Zay, District 6.  It was also great to see Downers Grove Mayor, Martin Tully,  Dowers Grove Commissioner Bob Barnett, newly elected Downers Grove Commissioner Greg Hose and Michael Cassa, President of Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation, along with a room full of representatives from all levels of local government.

For more information on The Clean Water Initiative click on link:  Illinois Clean Water Initiative

This Week's Meetings

This Week's Meetings

Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation

Had a great meeting today with Michael Cassa, President and CEO of the Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation.  Michael has a great vision for Downers Grove.  I am sincerely looking forward to working with him and his staff over the next 4 years.

The Human Race

A great event  for a many great causes, right here in beautiful Downers Grove.  Giving DuPage is hosting the Human Race, a 5K Run or Fitness Walk at The Esplanade at Locust Point in Downers Grove. The Race will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, 2013.  For more information click on link.   The Human Race - DuPage County

Age Well DuPage

Age Well DuPage

Renew, Recharge, Reinvent

Join us for a FREE community event presented by DuPage County Senior Services and College of DuPage Continuing Education!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

1-4 p.m. 

College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn

Student Resource Center (SRC), Room 2000

Refreshments served courtesy of Waterleaf Restaurant

Keynote: Aging Well in DuPage, Lucia West Jones, Northeastern Illinois Agency on Aging

Experience the services and opportunities available in DuPage County for a full life at any age! Age Well DuPage is a free event with exciting breakout sessions that will inform and entertain.  These sessions include:

• Older Worker Job Search
• Enrolling in Social Security 
• Financial Planning for Life-Changing Events
• Guide to Aging in Place
• Medicare 101
• Stay Well, Live Longer
• Stress No More 
• Tai Chi
• Volunteer Opportunities for Older Adults, and more

We encourage you to join us for this event to enrich your life, socialize, and learn about the rich opportunities available to you in DuPage County. 

Contact us!

For more information, and to register for this free event, contact Antonia Harlan, DuPage County Community Services, at (630) 407-6500, or Antonia.Harlan@dupageco.org.  

DuPage Honor Flight

DuPage Veterans Foundation will be hosting it's  Annual Honor Flight Fundraiser on May 4, 2013 at the DuPage Airport.   The event honors WWII and Korean War Veterans while raising funds for the Honor Flight Program.    You can find more information here Event | DuPage Veterans Foundation.

Slowly Making Progress

Have you ever felt that your efforts were being hampered?  Well that is how I was beginning to feel.  Maybe I was feeling paranoid.  I have good reason to feel that way.  While serving on the DuPage Water Commission my efforts were continually being stonewalled.  You can read about that here Swimming against the current and here FOIAed again.

The whole thing started back on February 12, 2013 when I spoke at a DuPage County Board meeting about a concern that was brought to my attention by several individuals.  You can catch up on the situation here Shared Services?.  

On March 5, 2013 I sent an email to DuPage State's Attorney Nancy Wolfe, below is a copy of the email.

It is my understanding that DuPage County is storing all of the DuPage Forest Preserve documents and we have been since 2002.  I do believe that DuPage County should take inventory of all of the forest preserve documents currently in our possession.  I do believe that any documents that are delivered to the county must be documented,  what type of document(s), the date and time the county received the document(s) and where the document(s) are being stored.

I do believe that  transportation of the documents needs to be defined.  Who is and how are the documents being delivered to the county? Is staff delivering the documents? Are we using a courier service?  What type of protections are there for transportation of documents and who is responsible for them during transit.

I also believe that an intergovernmental agreement must states who is responsible for the documents.  The arrangement as it is right now is troubling.  If a document is missing or damaged the county can blame the FP or the other way around.  

Lastly, there should be some type of fee for storing the documents.  

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I look forward to working with you on this most important matter.

A few weeks had passed, I had not heard anything from the State's Attorney's Office. I phoned to check on the status of the Intergovernmental Agreement.  To my surprise the agreement had not been worked on.  After a few more weeks, still hearing nothing,  I had sent another email inquiring about the status of the agreement.  I received a response that they were working on the first draft of the agreement.  I responded asking to have the process explained to me and how long the process would take. I never did  here back from my last inquiry.  Yesterday I had a DuPage County Board meeting .  I was not going to leave the campus until I  spoke with Ms. Wolfe.  Well, I did speak with her and  I was pleased to learn that the first draft of the Intergovernmental Agreement between DuPage County and the DuPage Forest Preserve is complete.  The draft is now in the hands of the DuPage Forest Preserve for review by their attorney.  

The first part of the process has taken much longer than anticipated.  The good news is that things are moving along and progress is being made. 

   

This Week's Meetings

This Week's Meetings