Tornado outbreak in Illinois and Indiana raises concerns about FEMA disaster assistance

As families work to rebuild their lives after tornadoes touched down in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana on Tuesday, questions over whether the federal government will help out will likely be a focal point down the road.

Receiving federal disaster assistance funding in Illinois has proven trickier during President Trump's second administration.

Politics has popped its head into the conversation, and you need to look no further than places like Palatine, Romeoville, and Sugar Grove, which were hammered with storms last summer.

Last August, soaking rains and 70 mph winds ravaged parts of the Chicago area. While there were no tornadoes as a result of those storms, Boone, Cook, Kane, McHenry, and Will counties saw flooding, wind and hail damage, blocked roads, and extensive power outages.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected the Gov. JB Pritzker's request for disaster assistance, so state aid had to suffice. Pritzker said the president was playing politics with disaster relief.

FEMA told the Illinois Emergency Management Agency that federal supplemental assistance was not warranted in last summer's storms.

Last June, the president said, "We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it back to the state level."

Last year, FEMA declared 115 disasters, down from the yearly average of 164.

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL), who represents Kankakee, said she is going to fight for FEMA money for victims of Tuesday's severe storms.

"People have died. People's homes have been torn apart. Businesses have been torn apart. We should not look at Democrat or Republican. These are people that live here, and they need to release the money, and there should not be retaliatory efforts. That would be absolutely ridiculous," Kelly said.

Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN), who represents Newton County, Indiana, which also was badly hit by Tuesday's storms, didn't respond to requests for comment.