Pritzker deploys an additional 200 National Guard troops to Southern Illinois
A special National Guard task force has been ordered to head to the metro-east by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
An additional 200 troops will continue to assist defending Illinois cities threatened by the flooding Illinois and Mississippi rivers. In total, more than 400 guardsmen are working against flooding in Illinois.
Two-hundred soldiers make up Task Force 2. They will be supporting flood operations in the metro-east and are made up of guardsmen from military police companies based in Springfield, East St. Louis, Fort Sheridan and Bartonville.
Several areas throughout the metro-east are battling floodwaters. In Alton and Grafton, where the river is expected to crest at 39 and 35.5 feet, respectively.
In Grafton, where Pritzker was expected to survey damage from flooding Tuesday afternoon, residents have been working around the clock to protect their town from rising floodwater.
“The state of Illinois will use every resource at its disposal to protect our residents and our communities from devastating floods,” Pritzker said in a news release. “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.”
In St. Clair County and Madison counties, 20 of the National Guard members originally deployed by Pritzker last week have been patrolling levees, looking for possible warning signs of failure and searching for trespassers.
Pritzker said the latest National Guard deployment “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.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2019 at 4:25 PM.