{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bost.house.gov/2021/12/illinois disaster declaration letter", "DURBIN, DUCKWORTH, DAVIS, BOST LEAD ILLINOIS DELEGATION IN URGING WHITE HOUSE TO SUPPORT EMERGENCY DECLARATION FOR 28 COUNTIES FOLLOWING SEVERE WEATHER", "2021-12-13", "2021", "2021-12", "Republican", "House", "IL", "Mike Bost", "B001295", "bost.house.gov", "bost", "https://bost.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Rodney Davis (R-IL-13) and Mike Bost (R-IL-12) today led every member of the Illinois Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to President Biden urging the White House to support Governor J.B. Pritzker\u2019s request for an Emergency Declaration for 28 counties. The letter follows severe weather and tornadoes this past weekend that led to six fatalities from the collapse of an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois.\n\n\u201cWe are writing in support of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker\u2019s request for an Emergency Declaration for the following Illinois counties to assist in the response to extensive tornado damage: Bond, Cass, Champaign, Coles, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Greene, Grundy, Iroquois, Jackson, Jersey, Kankakee, Lawrence, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, Sangamon, Shelby, Tazewell, and Woodford,\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\n\u201cGovernor Pritzker has determined that this incident is of such severity that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and local governments, and the State is in need of Public Assistance to continue responding to and recovering from this tragic disaster,\u201d the letter concluded.\n\nFull text of the letter is available below:\n\nDecember 13, 2021\n\nDear Mr. President:\n\nWe are writing in support of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker\u2019s request for an Emergency Declaration for the following Illinois counties to assist in the response to extensive tornado damage: Bond, Cass, Champaign, Coles, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Greene, Grundy, Iroquois, Jackson, Jersey, Kankakee, Lawrence, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, Sangamon, Shelby, Tazewell, and Woodford.\n\nThis past weekend, severe weather and tornadoes impacted Central Illinois and the Metro East area. An EF-3 tornado caused the collapse of an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville. While 45 employees were rescued from the collapsed building, there were six fatalities, and there is still an ongoing search and rescue mission for unaccounted employees at this site.\n\nGovernor Pritzker has determined that this incident is of such severity that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and local governments, and the State is in need of Public Assistance to continue responding to and recovering from this tragic disaster.\n\nThank you in advance for your timely consideration of this important request. We stand ready to assist in any way appropriate.\n\nSincerely,\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bost.house.gov/2021/12/illinois disaster declaration letter"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1466079633682966, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}