Illinois will get the chance to convince the federal government to reverse denial of aid to southern Illinois homeowners socked by last month's deadly tornados.
Sen. Dick Durbin says Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Craig Fugate is allowing the state to recalculate the level of damage in the wake of Feb. 29 storms that killed seven people in Harrisburg. Durbin and Fugate met Wednesday in Washington.
FEMA had ruled that insurance, charities and state money could cover costs linked to the storm that tore through five southern Illinois counties.
Durbin suggests FEMA made the decision using incomplete information gathered five days after the storms. He says that was too early to get a true fix on the extent of the damage.
