MARION - On a visit to the region Tuesday, Gov. Pat Quinn called the damage wrought by last Friday's storm in Southern Illinois "heartbreaking."

Quinn took aerial and ground tours in the region and met with a stream of local officials from West Frankfort, Murphysboro, Du Quoin, Carterville, Carbondale, Chester, Harrisburg, Shawneetown and Eldorado.

After making sure to acknowledge the damage to the region, Quinn struck an encouraging tone while addressing a throng of volunteers, utility workers and media gathered at the makeshift Ameren command center in Marion.

"Our emergency management workers won't rest until every one is back on their feet and fully recovered," he said, before commending the multiple-agency recovery effort. "It's a team effort and everybody is in on it, nobody is left out."

Quinn said the state is prepared for a months-long recovery in the region and that the state would "pursue every opportunity to get what we need." And while he promised continued assistance from the state, Quinn would not guarantee any disaster relief from the federal government.

Until teams with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and their counterparts at local agencies complete detailed evaluations of the damage to the region, the state will not be able to apply for funds through a federal disaster declaration.

IEMA Director Andrew Velasquez said his agency is still in "response mode" and he's not sure when the damage evaluations will be completed. Because evaluations are taking place in six counties - Jackson, Williamson, Franklin, Gallatin, Saline and Randolph - Velasquez said they will take time.

"If it was just one county I could put an estimate on it," he said. "The challenge here is that it's so widespread."

Velasquez, who said his visit included a tour of some hard-hit Marion neighborhoods, echoed the governor and called the damage to the area severe.

"I have never seen anything this bad from a debris perspective," he said. "To see a tree with an eight-foot diameter uprooted, it was powerful. This is going to be a lengthy recovery process."

Quinn and Velasquez were joined by a pack of state and local officials including state Reps. John Bradley, D-Marion, and Brandon Phelps, R-Harrisburg, and state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton.

blackwell.thomas@thesouthern.com

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