Illinois Flooding in Peoria, Quincy Still Causing Worries

Peoria, Illinois -- Illinois, much as many other Midwestern states, has been the victim of massive flooding.

As I have reported previously, Peoria has had flooding in the downtown area which, while not affecting residential areas, does affect the downtown area. Our sister city of East Peoria has been affected in the lower lying residential areas.  

Other flooded areas up and down the state include the Apple River near Hanover, Bone Yard Creek at Lincoln avenue in Urbana, Lake Fork in Atwood, Illinois, and Mill Creek, Illinois. The 40 sites from northern to southern Illinois are too numerous to list here.

Illinois' problems are most illustrated by Peoria Heights and Chillicothe, Illinois, which houses "stilt homes" used for river living are being overrun by the Illinois and Ohio rivers. That is the problem with of Illinois; we are surrounded by tributaries of the Mississippi River.

Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), along with fellow Democrat Dick Durbin, will be visiting the Southern "swamplands" of Illinois while the Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be visiting Quincy, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi.

What has been the problem this year? The last year I can remember (and I'm about 60) that was as wet and cool in Illinois in June was back in 1993.

Sadly, the problems are way more complicated than damage and inconvenience, although certainly that is enough. We are having problems with transportation, crop damage -- not only in Illinois but Iowa as well. What is this going to mean for future food prices considering fuel prices?

Most of the defenses in Illinois center on the use of sandbags. Frankly, for the amount of water that surrounds Illinois, we are not a state that has to deal with water a lot. Most cities are off the banks and most homes that do live on the banks use stilts.

Seven counties have been declared disaster areas.

I have to make a statement that some people are not going to like. (I often do.) The joint wisdom of those politicians visiting those destroyed Illinois areas was that it was simply a fact that the errant weather in Iowa and Wisconsin was too much for Illinois to handle.