Governor activates additional 200 Guard soldiers to engage in flood fight
An additional 200 Illinois National Guard soldiers were activated June 4 by Gov. JB Pritzker for state active duty to engage in the state’s active flood fight along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.
The activation of the additional soldiers came as the Army Corps of Engineers confirmed atn overtopping at the Nutwood Levee, which forced the closure of Illinois State Route 16 at the Joe Page Bridge near Hardin.
In all, more than 400 guardsmen are reinforcing the state’s efforts to fight raging floodwaters as more precipitation takes aim on river communities.
Task Force 2 (TF2) is made up of approximately 200 soldiers supporting flood operations in the Metro East area of Illinois.
The soldiers of TF2 are drawn from the 233rd Military Police Company based in Springfield, 933rd Military Police Company based in Fort Sheridan, 1844th Transportation Company based in East St. Louis, and the 709th Medical Company from Bartonville.
“The State of Illinois will use every resource at its disposal to protect our residents and our communities from devastating floods,” Prtizker said.
“As we continue to strengthen our levees in west-central Illinois, we must also plan and prepare for this force of nature to move downstream to our Southern Illinois communities.
“These soldiers will help not only bolster our current numbers on the ground, but allow us to pre-position key assets in downstream communities to prepare for what’s to come in the days ahead.”
On Tuesday, June 4, state and local leaders joined the governor and other state officials for an operational briefing at the State’s Unified Area Command, SUAC, in Winchester.
The briefing included updates on the health and stability of levees by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, troop deployments and mission overviews from the Illinois National Guard and a report on deployed state assets.
Through June 4, the State of Illinois had provided more than 3 million sandbags, more than 2,700 rolls of plastic, 27 pumps and five dozen IDOC offenders to assist local communities as they fight rising floodwaters and protect our state’s critical infrastructure.
With additional precipitation in the forecast, river levels were expected to continue to rise in areas along parts of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.
Emergency management officials were advising residents in river communities to have a family evacuation plan in place, in the event an evacuation is necessary due to rising floodwaters.
Emergency management officials also urged residents to be aware of the flood risks in their neighborhood and to know the steps to take to keep their family safe in the event of an emergency.