
By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Top state leaders were in the Morgan County village of Meredosia Wednesday morning to inspect flood preparations.
“We do this every single year,” said Illinois Emergency Management Agency director Gen. Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “The actions that you see today are predicated on the fact that we have a very close working relationship with the Natoinal Weather Service, and so we are monitoring this all along. We go out proactively, and we talk to our commuinties and talk about their flood fighting Each of our accredited jurisdictions also have a mitigation plan.”
Responding to a question about climate change, Gov. JB Pritzker said climate change is here to stay – and everybody, from FEMA to the Army Corps of Engineers to local government – has to realize that: “We need to have more permanent solutions than just putting sandbags out.”
The Illinois River is at major flood stage at Meredosia, 25 feet, with five feet to spare.
Dave Dahl can be reached at News@WJBC.com.