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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
PROPOSED RESOLUTION FOR THE COOK COUNTY 2025 STORMS RESIDENT RELIEF PROJECT
WHEREAS, from July 25, 2025 through July 28, 2025, Cook County experienced severe weather characterized by multiple days of significant rainfall and thunderstorms, resulting in flash flooding and widespread residential damage across portions of the County; and
WHEREAS, the July 2025 storm event included a concentrated area within the City of Chicago and suburban communities surrounding Midway Airport that experienced an overwhelming amount of rainfall within a short period of time, resulting in significant flooding and property damage; and
WHEREAS, data collected through Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) self-reported damage assessments and Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (JPDA) canvassing efforts identified approximately 3,527 reported instances of storm-related damage associated with the July 2025 flooding event; and
WHEREAS, from August 16, 2025 through August 19, 2025, Cook County experienced a multi-day severe weather event consisting of repeated rounds of thunderstorms and very heavy rainfall, resulting in widespread flash flooding across Cook County and northeastern Illinois; and
WHEREAS, the August 2025 storm event produced approximately seventeen hours of sustained rainfall, with localized areas receiving between four and six inches of rain, contributing to significant residential flooding and infrastructure impacts; and
WHEREAS, data collected through IEMA self-reported damage assessments and JPDA canvassing efforts identified approximately 6,325 reported instances of storm-related damage, including more than 5,100 reports of major damage; and
WHEREAS, Cook County residents impacted by these severe weather events have experienced significant financial hardship due to residential flooding, property damage, displacement and related recovery costs; and
WHEREAS, many impacted residents include low- and moderate-income households, seniors and persons with disabilities who are disproportionately affected by disaster-related financial shocks and have limited access to recovery resources; and
WHEREAS, Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security coordinated closely with the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications, IEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration to pursue a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration that would allow for FEMA Individual Assistance; and
WHEREAS, historically, this level of documented damage would result in a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration but for these storms the requests and appeals were denied; and
WHEREAS, Cook County recognizes the need to provide assistance to residents experiencing verified storm-related damage in order to support recovery and stabilization; and
WHEREAS, Cook County desires to establish the Cook County 2025 Storm Resident Relief Project (“Project”) to provide one-time financial assistance to eligible residents impacted by the July and August 2025 storm events; and
WHEREAS, the County intends to utilize a third-party project administrator, AidKit, to support application intake, eligibility verification, fraud prevention, applicant support, communications and payment distribution for the Project; and
WHEREAS, the Project will leverage documented disaster impacts, including IEMA and JPDA assessments, additional damage documentation, and residency and income verification criteria to ensure equitable and targeted distribution of funds.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security to implement the Cook County 2025 Storm Resident Relief Project as described below; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Department is authorized to enter into an agreement with AidKit to administer the Project pursuant to Proposed Contract Item with AidKit, including application intake, eligibility verification, applicant support, communications, and distribution of $2,000 per household of financial assistance guided by following the criteria:
• Applicant household income is at or below 100% of the Area Median Income for the applicant’s household size, and
• Applicant household has documented and verifiable damage as a result of the storms on July 25-28, 2025 or August 16-19, 2025.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the total amount of funding to be distributed to impacted Cook County households is $15,000,000.00 (with $7,500,000.00 allocated to City of Chicago residents and $7,500,000.00 allocated to suburban Cook County residents) and the estimated administrative costs per the contract are $1.3 million; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes all necessary actions to implement and administer this Project consistent with the intent of this Resolution.
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