Governor Bruce Rauner has added 11 counties to the disaster declaration list because of flood damage, bringing the total to 23. Among the newly added counties are Sangamon, Menard and Cass, where residents have spent more than a week trying to hold back the floodwaters that followed three days of rain that began December 26.
A disaster declaration means a county has access to state resources like sandbags, pumps, trucks and prison inmate work crews. Meanwhile, the state is collecting damage information from home and business owners to determine if a request for federal disaster assistance is warranted.