By Bill Raack, KWMU
Hartford, IL – Metro East lawmakers say the chances are good that the General Assembly will approve a measure clearing the way for levee repairs along the Mississippi River.
The federal government is preparing to decertify levees in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe Counties in Illinois because they are threatened by so-called underseepage. Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan supports a state bill that would allow a state sales tax increase to pay for the levees' repair.
"This is a very large area. In Madison County alone there's 76,000 households. We have 35,000 jobs here in Madison County. This is a very important issue. If these levees were ever to break it would just devastate the local economy for many, many years to come and we just can't allow that to happen," he said.
Officials say it will cost about $180 million to fix the problems with the levees. The legislation has passed the Illinois Senate and awaits action in the House.