# 28th Ward Grant Announcement 9.15.26

- Date: September 16, 2026
- Type: Video
- Length: 50:21
- Topic: Announcements
- Video: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srMaAIb77Ss)
- Transcript: Machine transcription, 8,014 words ([text](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/youtube/srMaAIb77Ss.txt))
- Mayor: [Brandon Johnson](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor)

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=0) Program introduction
- [5:03](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=303) Infrastructure overview
- [14:29](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=869) Disaster relief assistance
- [41:19](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2479) Mayor's address

## Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the 28th Ward Grant Announcement.

## Transcript

[0:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=0) First off, I want to introduce our commissioner for the Department of Family and Support Services, who is the administrator of the department that is overseeing this particular program, Ms. Angela Green. And I actually was not expecting her this evening. Her mother passed away on Friday, so I had no expectations for her to be here, but she has decided to join with us this evening. So I do want to allow her a few minutes to come and greet us and say a few words about the work that she's doing in the Department of Family Support Services.

[0:30](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=30) Commissioner? Two reasons why I had to come. One, because Chairman called. And when Chairman Irving calls, you respond. And because of his leadership and his dedication to the work that he does. And the second reason I had to come when I saw I was in a church, because I need that right now. I need that. And so that's where my source is. So I felt like I was at home.

[1:01](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=61) So thank you for inviting me. Once again, my name is Angela Green. I'm the commissioner with the Department of Family Support Services. My appointment was just a year ago, so I'm new into this role, but not new into human services. I have over 25 years in that work. I was about four or five when I started. But just to let you know, the Department of Family Support Services, we have a full array of programs.

[1:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=91) So today you're going to hear about a disaster relief program, which is such a beautiful opportunity for you to get some reimbursement for some of the expenses you had in the 2023-24 storms. When do you ever hear the city say, we have $15,000 that we could give you for what you may have experienced? Amen. You don't hear about that, but you will hear more about it later, so I won't go too far in depth. No, that's the only thing we have that is that rich and expensive and beautiful in order to be able to help people

[2:04](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=124) in the challenges they've had, experienced through the storm. But we also have rental assistance programs. We have public assistance eligibility requirements to tell you and help you apply for public assistance. We also have programs with youth. We have employment programs. This year we've hired the most youth that we've had in the history of the city, and I'm still trying to get more. But if you have youth between the ages of 16 to 24, we have jobs that we're trying to get them connected to,

[2:36](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=156) programs we're trying to get them connected to. So you can go on chicagoyouthworks.org and get information about that there. We also have a children's services division, so Head Start programs, child care programs. as we have those available and accessible to you all. We actually serve from pregnant moms, so we have a doula program, all the way to seniors. And this Thursday we're going to have a Senior Fest. And I don't know if, have any of you been to a Senior Fest?

[3:09](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=189) Oh, good. You've got to go. You've heard about it. I took my parents last year, and even though my mother's funeral is this weekend, And I said, I'm working every day, and I'm going to Senior Fest because it is such a beautiful experience. And we have so many things there for you, about 8,000 to 9,000 seniors that are there. So it's a party. Sorry, God, but it is a party. So please do try to attend the Senior Fest. It will be downtown in Millennium Park and by the Pritzker Stadium.

[3:45](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=225) So please make your way down there from 9 until 2 on this Thursday. And there's so many other programs. So we have chore programs. We have caregiver assistance programs. You can call our information assistant line to get information about all the services we have for seniors. I left flyers out there for you. If you know of anybody that has been incarcerated and coming out, we have reentry programs, help them get employed, help them get support.

[4:15](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=255) females and males that may be experiencing that. We want them to get them back into our city and get them supported into the services that we have. We have a workforce division as well for those who are looking for employment. So please do reach out. Go on our website with Department of Family Support Services. And also always call 311 because all of our services are there as well. So if you couldn't catch nothing from my speaking today, go on there and find out information. We are here to support you, your taxpayer dollars, your city dollars.

[4:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=288) He approves it. I can do it. So please make sure you utilize it, okay, because it's here for you. Thank you so much for your time and your patience. And I'll turn it back over to the chairman. Thank you, Commissioner Green. And again, as I said, I did not expect to see you with us this evening. As I spoke to you earlier, I know that losing a parent is hard, especially if they were good to you and took care of you.

[5:18](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=318) So I've been there, I've sat in that same seat, so I understand what it is that you're going through. And again, just thank you for taking time to come over to join with us on the west side this evening. I really appreciate it. Like I said, I didn't expect it, but I'm glad to see that you have joined with us on this evening. So I'm going to give you a brief overview of how we kind of made our way here with this particular program. If you could bring the slides up that I had, I don't know if my clicker is working or not, but you can move it along as we see fit.

[5:53](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=353) So this program is funded out of a series of programs that were approved by the federal government in the last days of the Biden administration. This was something done through HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, that granted us $426 million in federal money. Now, we added another $97 million in city funds so that we can be a little more flexible

[6:23](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=383) in what it is that we're able to do to support the city in this effort and support the residents. Now, even though we have federal money, we also have local money. The biggest chunk of the money that's being spent is toward the infrastructure because it's not going to do us any good to fix homes and do things for the next storm to come through and tear everything back up. So a lot of times people have talked about, hey, we need to put a little more in homes,

[6:53](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=413) but at the same time we also have to focus on some of the challenges that have created the situation as it exists. So that's part number one. We had some public hearings. We had one over at Zoe Life over on Madison in Laramie. They had another one in the community as well. And from that, we made adjustments to the plan. And this was actually one of the adjustments that came out of the plan, which was direct assistance to residents. Now, as part of the infrastructure, we'll be replacing 104 blocks of sewers.

[7:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=448) 104 blocks of sewers will be replaced, 2,100 blocks of maintenance, meaning the cleaning and repair of catch bases and other things that create the situation where the water ends up in your basement. And second, the last thing was the wing storage. So we started our first wing storage project. So anybody that lives near Maypole between Cicero and Laverne, we did a project that actually is basically like a big storage tank,

[8:02](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=482) like a big bathtub that we have built in order to take water essentially that's running from Cicero to Laramie from Lake Street down to Washington and Madison to create an area where water can collect so that it doesn't, you know, again, end up in the basement. Now, there's several of those things that are going to be programmed in the community around the west side of Chicago so that, again, we can create an atmosphere that that stuff just doesn't necessarily end up in your basement.

[8:35](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=515) So we've got this called wing storage, temporary storage, because the Water Reclamation District has built the deep tunnel. They've got three big reservoirs in the county, and in these last storms, they were all full. So it's not something we may necessarily be able to engineer our way out of, but because as these storms continue to give us, you know, what used to be, we get a two-inch rain once every 10 years. Now we're getting those types of rains once a year, twice a year. You know, the smaller rains. So these things are designed to hold up just the small stuff.

[9:08](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=548) Now, we get one of them six-, seven-, eight-inch storms, yeah, we're going to have problems because there's no sewer system in the world designed to take on that amount of water in that sort of a period of time because these downpours will just come like voos, like somebody just dropped a bucket of water versus dripping water over you. So, again, just trying to mitigate this as much as possible. The second component. This has been the housing recovery programs. And so along those lines, we have two sets of programs.

[9:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=581) One is the home repair program that started out just as a pilot program that was done with about $3 million, primarily focused on the west side. And we're having a second component of that that's added another $40 million to the home repair component. And then this, which is another ask that came out of the community meetings, was direct assistance to residents, which is the disaster recovery, that's this program, the Disaster Relief Assistance Program.

[10:12](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=612) And the last bucket was the economic revitalization. So there were some business impacts as it relates to this. We're doing what we call some activations along Madison. If you see a lot of infrastructure and a lot of money going into businesses along Madison, And again, these are those dollars that are turning over working in the community. And we've made a couple of announcements towards that as well. So just wanted to just kind of give an overview as to the whole process of all of the federal money that has been granted to the city of Chicago

[10:43](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=643) and how those dollars are being spent as it relates to the compliance and what we're doing here, primarily on the west side of Chicago. Now, as the commissioner said, we have to, everybody saw $426 million and everybody did like this. I'm not talking about y'all. I'm talking about my colleagues in city council. They did like this. They said, where's mine at? And I went back and said, well, you know, I sent them all to see Alderman Mintz because Alderman Mintz was jumping up and down saying, hey, where's my money at for the west side of Chicago?

[11:16](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=676) And all we kept doing was just holding up, say, keep jumping, keep jumping, eventually something's going to happen. And it did. So we've had to make some adjustments and some gyrations to get, because we can't do anything. The five of us on the west side, it takes 26 votes to move anything in the city council. So the five of us on the west side working with our colleagues to get this done, they know that our community has been impacted the hardest by this. Didn't mean that other communities didn't see any impact, but the bulk of the impact of these floods over the last three, four, five years have been right here on the west side of Chicago.

[11:49](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=709) and therefore the bulk of what's happening in the bulk of the resources, in the bulk of the sewer work, the bulk of the cleaning, the bulk of the economic work, the bulk of everything, is happening pretty much between about five zip codes. 2-4-4-4-5-1-3-9, and there's one other one, a little, what was it, 5-1, there's the other one. So that's where you're going to see a bulk of the work. You've already started some of that work in our community. Like I said, the Wing Store just started up, new alleys, things of that nature, because we're trying to create a more sustainable, resilient, from an environmental perspective,

[12:25](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=745) environment for all of these things that are going to be happening. So this is going to happen over a five-year period. So it's starting this year and it's going to extend all the way through 2030. So this is not just day one. It is day one. We've got five years that we're going to keep doing this, spending these dollars, doing the sores, doing the alleys, doing other infrastructure around this. But these are some of the early programs that are probably going to be exhausted before that five-year period is done.

[12:56](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=776) So like I said, I just wanted to give you a brief overview of how we got here, where the money is coming from. This particular pot of money is coming from, these are city dollars. So that gives us a little flexibility as to how we can do things. The federal rules are a monster. So we wanted to alleviate things that couldn't happen because the Fed said it couldn't happen, that we were able to do these things with local dollars so the rules are a little more flexible on how we can administer, what we can do, what we can't do, all of those types of things.

[13:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=808) So we made some adjustments to that. That's why the $97 million was added from the city money to go along with the $426 million in federal money. So we've got over half a billion dollars, 99 percent of it being spent on the west side of Chicago. So, again, that's through the work of our colleagues in city council and the five alders here on the west side that have been bringing forth that particular information. So at this point, what I wanted to do is – Pastor Sims, is he – he ain't made it in yet?

[14:01](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=841) Okay, I thought. Thought he'd be here by now. He wanted to give us a quick greeting and I just wanted to thank him for allowing us to use the church this evening because, again, he didn't have to open his doors to join to allow us to be here. And so I just want to thank him and his team for allowing us to be here this evening. So when he when he comes, I wanted him to say a few words for us so that he can welcome us as he as he would like to. What we're going to do now, we're going to have a presentation about the disaster relief assistance program.

[14:37](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=877) We call it short for DRAP. We're going to have a brief presentation on that from the Northwest Center. So the Northwest Center is the administrator of the program that we are doing. They will process the applications. They will do all of the back office work in order to make sure that everything goes according to how it was designed and was submitted. So, again, I want to welcome Ms. Angela Fontes. She is the executive director of the Northwest Center, and she's going to take us further in the program.

[15:10](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=910) Thank you. I'm a little shorter than the alderman. As Alderman Irvin said, I'm Angela Fontes. I'm the executive director at the Northwest Center. I'll say a little bit more about who we are and what we do in a minute, but I first just wanted to start by saying thank you. Thank you to the city. Thank you to DFSS. We have an amazing group of colleagues at DFSS that we've been able to work with over there.

[15:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=941) And I will also share, this is, the program launched last week. This is our first community meeting, our first time that we're presenting about this work. And I have to tell you that Alderman Irvin was asking for this meeting before we were introduced. So know that you all are first. We're just really, really excited to be here and share this program with you guys.

[16:12](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=972) I think it's an innovative program because, as Alderman Irvin said, these are city dollars. the design really is intended to support some of the communities that did not receive other support like the FEMA support. And so I want to go into some of the details that may make a difference for you in whether you're able to apply and potentially receive some funds from this grant. So I think we have a deck, my friend Eric in the booth.

[16:43](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1003) All right. So the name of the program, we call it DRAP, Disaster Relief Assistance Program. And as I mentioned, you can go ahead. My colleague Karina and I are from the Northwest Center. So we're a nonprofit also on the west side, just a little bit north of here, serving the community. We're fortunate enough to work with DFSS on a number of programs. DRAP is certainly one of them, but we've had the pleasure of hosting, gosh, 15,

[17:15](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1035) and we're about to get more young adults in our building as part of some of the youth programming. We also run the Kelvin Park Senior Center over on Cicero, and that's another, again, DFSS-provided program. And so we're really thrilled to be colleagues again with DFSS in this. We certainly do a lot of things, but housing is in our blood, and allowing people to stay in the communities that they grew up in and choose to live in is critical for us.

[17:46](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1066) We've been around about 22 years, and we started out as a housing agency, as a HUD-certified housing counseling agency, and we still do that today, primarily doing foreclosure prevention. And so, again, this felt really like a great fit for us. We can go ahead. And so I'll say a little bit about the program, and then I want to talk about eligibility and how you might be eligible for the program. We'll get into what the program covers, the required documents, and everyone should, and if you didn't, we can bring them around.

[18:24](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1104) This required documents sheet is going to be your best friend. And we pulled this together today because this is such an important part of what I want to talk about today. Well... get into a little bit of how to apply. The program is available for you to apply at home. You do not have to come and see us, although we would love to see all of you in our building. But we are available. Our role in the program is to do the outreach, the marketing support,

[18:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1134) and really to be here for the community in whatever way we need to be to help you get your application in and so we're available by phone we're doing walk-in days our addresses on the flyer on Tuesdays and Thursdays you can just come and ask whatever questions we can also if technology is not your thing it's not mine either so we can sit with you and do the application together with you if you need help uploading documents all of that good stuff we are that is our job and so we're excited to work with all of you on that finally I want to leave

[19:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1168) some time for questions and answers. So that's the last part. We did, I'll just foreshadow, we did bring some tablets. And so if you want to check your eligibility today, we're very happy to do that after the presentation as well. All right. So we can move ahead. So what is DRAP? As the alderman said, this is a program set aside funds from the federal funds that were provided through HUD to support residents. And again, this is money that is coming

[20:02](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1202) directly from this program to residents of the city, which I think is an important part. Folks are eligible for up to $15,000. That is the maximum assistance cap. And really the intent here is to meet the unmet need. And so if you did receive assistance from FEMA or small business loan, you are still eligible for the DRAP program. Your benefit or what the DRAP program might pay out is just that difference, and I'll talk a little bit more about that. The program is designed

[20:36](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1236) to assist households with eligible expenses, including rent, mortgage, and utility payments. And then, again, the intent here is to fill the gap between the financial hardship you might have experienced and whatever other assistance, which I know some people were able to get that. I also know we've just been hearing people's stories tonight. A lot of people were not able to get that. And so this program intends to step into that gap a little bit. We can go on.

[21:07](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1267) So for the program, we're talking about three specific severe weather events. And I have to make sure I get the dates right. So the first period is June 29th through July 2nd of 2023. That was the first, that's the first sort of event that will qualify you if you experienced a financial hardship. Storm period number two is September 17th and 18th of 2023. And then the third storm period is July 13th to July 16th of 2024. And so when we talk about the

[21:43](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1303) event or the event that caused the financial hardship. These are really the three periods that we're talking about. So we can move on to the next slide. Who is eligible to apply? So any adult, 18 years and older, is eligible to apply. You do need to currently live in the city of Chicago and also have lived in the city of Chicago when you experienced the event, the financial hardship, those storms. You don't have to have lived in the same place, right?

[22:15](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1335) But you have to live in Chicago both of those time periods. The program is intended to support households with limited income. And so the eligibility threshold is 80% of area median income. And if you don't know what that is, that's fine. I don't know either. We'll figure it out together when we look at the tool that helps determine whether you are eligible to apply. So know that the city did a great job of putting together this tool that gives us all of

[22:47](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1367) this information without having to do any math. And then the most important thing is that you've experienced a financial hardship as a result of one of these storms. It's important to sort of say, unlike some of the other programs that were provided, assistance programs that were provided, you do not have to be a homeowner. You can be a renter, right? In fact, we're looking to support renters. We're also looking to support, we know, a lot of older adults, 60-plus, were really impacted and didn't always have the ability to access

[23:19](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1399) some of those other assistance programs that were available. And we are also thrilled, because we are in 60639, to support the west side of Chicago. And so we are focused, anybody in the city can apply, but we are focused on residents of the west side. That's important as well. We can go on to the next slide. So what expenses does DRAP cover? The financial hardship, and I'm going to say more about what is a financial hardship.

[23:52](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1432) The financial hardship experience needs to be as a result of those storms. But one of the innovative things that this program did is that the expenses that you'll be reimbursed for are current mortgage or rent and utility expenses. And so you don't necessarily, and this was one of my concerns when we decided to work on this program, is a lot of folks experienced financial hardships and maybe they had damage to their home, and not everyone can afford to get it fixed. So what are we reimbursing them for?

[24:24](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1464) And so the program actually reimburses those living expenses and that's what we'll submit in your application for the reimbursement. Again, like I said, housing payments are available to be reimbursed, utility payments, and the expense window specifically that we're looking at is between January 21st of 2025. So last year, January, and January of next year, January of 2027.

[24:55](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1495) And so hopefully those are expenses that are a little bit easier for you to access some documentation around. That's the hope there. We can go on to the next one. So document checklists, and I'm going to get into this a little more in depth here in a minute, but there are some important documentation requirements that you should be aware of. And these are all things that you will upload as part of your application. I will share that sort of each section

[25:29](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1529) allows you to upload the documentation for that specific section. And so it is important that you gather all of your documents up before you sit down, you come in with us to do the application. That's an important part. So what do you need? You need proof of identification. You need proof of residence. Again, proof of residence during the storm periods, but also your current. We've got to know where to send the check, right? So proof of your current residence.

[26:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1560) Proof of income. Again, the best thing here is to provide your tax forms, your 1040. Proof of the storm hardship. So what was the financial hardship? I'll pause here and talk a little bit about financial hardship. So I think some of the financial hardships you might have experienced are pretty easy to determine. Your basement flooded, you had property damage, you had damage to your home that you own, and so that's caused now a financial hardship. This program recognizes that you may have experienced damage to your property, even if you're renting, right?

[26:36](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1596) So if your electricity blew and your microwave that you purchased, your personal expense not part of the rental unit that you're in, if that was damaged and no longer usable, that's a financial hardship. Your car may have been damaged during the storms. The program also covers employment events. So if you lost your job or if you weren't able to get the same amount of hours, that you had previously been getting.

[27:09](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1629) Those are also all financial hardships. And so the definition that the program uses for financial hardship is really broad. And so if you had any kind of situation where you, because of these storms, experienced something that really impacted your finances, come and see us, and we'll figure out how to make sure we can get your application in in a way that makes sense and shows the depth of that financial hardship for you.

[27:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1661) So we can move on to the next slide. The application is really four steps, and I'll go into each of these in depth. So I mentioned one super important, gather all of your documents together. Get a packet ready before you sit down to do your application at home or before you come in to Northwest Center, and that will make completing the application a lot faster and a lot easier for you. The second step is to access the online portal and check your eligibility,

[28:12](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1692) and this is something we can do with you tonight. if you would like. It's like three questions, four questions, four questions I want to say to determine whether you're eligible for the program. Very, very simple. You don't have to set up an account. It just gives you some guidance on who is eligible and who isn't and checks for you. The third step is to create an account. All the communication for this program is handled through email and you will create an account that will give you a portal so you can

[28:43](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1723) track the status of your application at every point through the application process. And so you can go in at any time to see, hey, has my application been submitted? Is there additional paperwork that's needed? What's going on with my application? We will continue to accept applications until the money runs out. So I can't tell you when the program's going to end. We hope that we give all of the money out very, very quickly and soon, and we can support you in getting your application in, but we'll be taking applications for five years if we

[29:16](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1756) have money left for five years. And then the last step is to submit your application and save your application ID in case you have questions or anything comes up. So let's talk a little bit about these documents that are required. We can go to the next slide. So I'm hoping you all picked up one of these sheets that we put together that's sort of teal and orange. this gives you examples of some of the documents

[29:47](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1787) that you might want to pull together and provide. But this is not an exhaustive list. And so if you have a different document, for example, that lays out or illustrates the financial hardship that you experienced, bring that in. And we will help you create your application around that. So don't feel constrained by just what's on this list. So the first is you have to have proof of identification. And one of the important things with this program is that we want to hear about the whole household.

[30:22](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1822) So we need proof of identification for the primary applicant, but we also need proof of identification for every other member of the household. And so for minors, for example, you might bring in a birth certificate or public assistance medical card as proof of identification for any young folks in the household. Second, you need proof of primary residence at the time of the disaster. And, again, this is some of the usual suspects, right? Signed lease agreement, mortgage statement, utility, credit card, banking bills,

[30:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1854) or anything else that shows your name and your address during the time of the period. Third, we need to know where you live now. Like I said, we've got to know where to send the check. So we need to know, again, your name that matches the name on the application and your current address, the address that you would like to be communicated with as part of the DRAP program. Fourth, proof of household income. And so the easiest way to provide documentation of income is to provide your most recent tax documents,

[31:30](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1890) the 1040 that you most recently filed. If that's not available, and we know it's not for everyone, you can bring in your pay stubs. for the last 90 days. And similar to the way we need to think about ID for everyone in the household, we need proof of income for everyone in the household. And so if you have another, a parent, or you have a partner, spouse, who is also working in the household, we need proof of their income as well.

[32:10](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1930) So next we need proof, we talked about proof of primary residence of the time of disaster, current residence, income, proof of the financial hardship. And this one's probably the toughest one to prove. And so there are some usual suspects that you might bring in terms of documentation, estimates of any property loss, any insurance filings or insurance documentation that you might have. You might have a termination letter because you lost your job as a result of one of these storms.

[32:43](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1963) You may have a reduction in hours that you can show through your pay stubs. You may have documentation as to the loss of other property that's not related to your home, a vehicle, appliances. Again, this is where if you have a financial hardship and you have some sort of documentation that you can bring, bring it in to us and we'll help figure it out.

[33:13](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=1993) with you. This one's probably the toughest, but we're always happy to answer questions. And then proof of payment for the eligible expenses. Excuse me. Remember again, the eligible expenses are not the things you might have paid for. Maybe your home was damaged. That's not what we're reimbursing. The city is reimbursing you for. It's the rent or mortgage payments and utility payments between January of 2025 and January of 2027. And so six months of those expenses

[33:49](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2029) is what we're looking for you to bring. We need, again, the names always have to match. And so make sure the name on your application matches the name on your ID, matches the name on your lease. And if it's not exact, I'm just going to say this so many times, come in, talk to us. We can help figure that out with you and with DFSS. And so there's some examples here of what to bring for those expenses. And then finally, if you have, you are or have someone who has power of attorney for

[34:21](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2061) you, we just need the documentation to show that you are eligible to work with someone else or someone else is eligible to work with you. And so that's a really important step. The next step is is to access the online portal. Before I stepped into this role, and I've only been in my position about 18 months, I'm actually a behavioral scientist by training. I'm a researcher by training and worked at the University of Chicago for most of my career. And so I'm a little harsh

[34:51](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2091) when it comes to how websites are designed because that's part of what I have studied for many years. I really think DFSS did a great job with this. And so website is your best friend. There's all of the documentation that you might need on the website in all sorts of languages. So if you need something in a language other than English, that is available. We are available in English, Spanish, Polish, Arabic, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and Filipino.

[35:24](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2124) We have everything available in those. You will create, well, first you will check your eligibility. And so, again, like I said, quick check, maybe five questions, and the system will tell you, are you eligible or not eligible? Once you get through that, we can go on to the next slide. Here's where you will create your account. You do need an email address to create your account. And, again, if you're not someone who, you know, uses technology a lot, that's okay.

[35:56](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2156) Come in, and we can help set you up with an email as well. We're ready to do that. So you'll create an account that will give you access to a portal. And again, like I said, this is where you'll track your application. So you can pop in there and see what's going on at any time. And this is where also you'll complete the application and upload all of those documents. Finally, fourth, you will submit and save your application ID. So you'll immediately upon submitting get an email to that email address that you included that will confirm that you have completed the application.

[36:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2191) and so that is sort of a run through we can move ahead and we've got some screenshots here on the presentation keep going one thing to note we are trying to just track our reach it is really really important that we are communicating and getting the word out about this program to residents of the west side and the way we're doing that is one of the last questions is where did you hear about the program

[37:01](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2221) Northwest Center is one of those options, and so that just helps us track our reach so we know if we're not hitting specific areas, we can focus on those areas. We can keep going. Submit your application. As I mentioned, you will get a confirmation email. One big question, how do you get approved and selected for the program, right? So you've submitted your application. You located all the paperwork.

[37:32](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2252) We got it all in for you. You got confirmation that your application is submitted. What now? So applications go into a pool every month, and every month a select number of applications are chosen at random to be reviewed. Those applications are then reviewed by DFSS. I will say, we just help you with the application. We get to be on this part of it. We don't have anything to do with the application approval or processing. If you do need additional documentation,

[38:04](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2284) DFS will reach out to you directly. We're happy to help you with that as well, but that's where you'll hear it actually directly from DFSS. So if your application is chosen, it will be reviewed. you may get asked for additional documentation, and then hopefully you're able to provide that documentation within 14 days, and your application will continue to be processed. If you're not chosen in that month, your application stays in the pool, and so you will remain eligible to be selected,

[38:35](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2315) again, until the funds run out, if you are not selected. Again, it is a random selection, But I will share that if you are an older adult, over 60, if you live in one of the five zip codes that the alderman mentioned, if you are a renter, you get priority. And so your application is sort of in the pool. You get twice the odds, if that makes sense. For each one of those, you sort of get like an additional chip in the button bag, right?

[39:07](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2347) So those are over 60, a renter, and in one of the five zip codes, and I don't think I could name them the way the alderman did, 514139. Great. Thank you, Karina. So know that if you are not hearing back and your application says submitted, you remain in the pool. We're always happy to check, but you are still eligible and could be selected at any month.

[39:46](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2386) And then, again, just review carefully. The ideal situation is that you get your application in, you get it chosen, DFSS reviews it, and it's great, and then you get a check in the mail. That's what we hope for all of you. You are always welcome to come. we can move on to the next slide, to Northwest Center, and our information is on this document here, our address. We're up at Diversity and Laramie. We're the building with the sort of

[40:18](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2418) second floor overhang. We do walk-in days on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so Tuesday, Thursday, 9 to 5, you can just show up, and someone will be available to help you. If those times don't work, If you need to come weekends or evenings, just give us a call and we'll make accommodations. We can set up those one-on-one appointments. Again, you don't have to come in, but we're always happy to see you. There are also the DFSS customer service centers. And so if one of these is closer for you, if you happen to be there for another reason, they are also able to help you.

[40:50](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2450) And this is actually where your applications will be processed. I'm going to be quiet for a minute and let our mayor say a few words about this program. I'm thrilled to introduce Mayor Johnson, who's been, I know, an advocate and support of this program and getting it all pushed out and ready.

[41:20](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2480) Pastor Sims, thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you all. Amen. Amen. What a wonderful presentation. Listen, on behalf of St. Michael Missionary Baptist Church, we're so glad to have all of you here. We're more excited to welcome and to receive our mayor. So let's give our mayor, Mayor Brandon Johnson, a great big round of applause. And we just say thank you to our mayor. Thank you so much.

[41:51](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2511) Thank you, Pastor Sims and St. Michael's, for opening up your doors this evening. And good evening, everyone. Thank you, Alderman Irvin, for your leadership and for your continuous support for families who have struggled as a result of this 100-year rainfall that continues to be... a challenge. It's very evident that climate change is real and the impact on our communities have been quite severe. Thank you to Commissioner Green for being here this evening as well

[42:25](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2545) and all of you for joining us. When severe storms caused significant flooding and damage primarily on the west sides of Chicago in 2023 and again in 2024, my administration took immediate action. We partnered with Cook County and the state of Illinois to mitigate the impact of the storms on our residents. The Office of Emergency Management and Communications, along with the Chicago Department of Water, did neighborhood cleanup and distributed over 1,400 Salvation Army and American Red Cross emergency kits.

[43:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2580) And we declared the issue a federal disaster so that we could apply for FEMA funding to assist with necessary home repairs and provide low-cost loans to residents impacted by these storms. Although my administration took swift action to apply for federal relief in 2023 and 2024, that relief is only arriving now in 2026, three years later. These storms were unprecedentedly severe as a result, again, of climate change.

[43:34](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2614) Many Chicagoans and families suffered the loss of cars and experienced significant damage to their property, and that can disrupt the stability of an entire household. It is, quite frankly, unacceptable to ask our residents to wait three years for financial relief that they need from the federal government, considering we pay taxes to the federal government more than what they actually return to us. As part of my administration's continued efforts to support the affected communities, today we are taking another action to support our residents and provide some more stability.

[44:14](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2654) My office and the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, we are launching the Disaster Relief Assistance Program, or what we are referring to as DRAP, to provide one-time reimbursements to eligible Chicagoans who experienced financial hardship as a result of the severe storms and flooding in the summer and fall of 2023 and the summer of 2024. Our grant specifically addresses the gaps in support that were left unaddressed by federal assistance

[44:47](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2687) as well as private insurance. It is intended to help households recover from documented losses, rebuild and restore their homes. I highly encourage our communities to apply for this program. Every resident who applies, it helps demonstrate the true scale of the community's need. The more people who apply for disaster relief, the stronger the case we can make for additional resources in the future months.

[45:18](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2718) As we have reiterated since 2023, these storms were the result of climate change. In fact, the storm that we experienced in 2023, we had not had a rainfall like that since Mayor Harold Washington was in office. And unfortunately, we can anticipate more extreme weather in our future. So again, it is important that our affected residents and communities apply for the program and make it known that Chicagoans need relief. We need the federal government to do their part to make sure that the families who have suffered under these storms get the benefits that we all deserve.

[45:56](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2756) My administration continues to invest in sustainability and our climate justice goals so that we are better prepared for the next storm and to ultimately reverse climate change and its effect on our communities. It was recently reported in the New York Times that Chicago is the number one city in the world for climate resilience. We commit to safeguarding our city's strengths and building upon them with innovative and long-term investments to ensure full resilience.

[46:27](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2787) One example is my administration and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's wing storage pilot program that we started right here on the west side of Chicago. This $12 million project builds underground infrastructure for catching stormwater during periods of intense rainfall and gradually releases it into the sewer system to maintain the system's capacity and, of course, to protect Lake Michigan. It will provide confidence and security for residents, families, and businesses and neighborhoods that will be protected from flooding in the event that more severe storms occur.

[47:07](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2827) Thank you. And while our climate justice work continues, the DRAP program will ensure that our residents are supported, not years from now, but right now, today. Residents and families should apply on our website, chicago.gov slash D-R-A-P. Again, that's chicago.gov slash D-R-A-P. or if you need assistance applying, contact our partners at the Northwest Center.

[47:39](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2859) And finally, again, I want to thank everyone who's making this relief program possible. Thank you to Northwest Center and Dr. Angela Fontes, to the DFSS team and Commissioner Angela Green, of course Alderman Jason Irvin, and the many community partners and members who have been working tirelessly alongside my administration to provide relief to our residents. And to all of you who are here today in all of our communities, please apply for the reimbursement and support that you deserve.

[48:13](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2893) The last thing that I will say is one of the benefits, of course, of being the mayor of Chicago and living on the West Side, I saw the experience firsthand. And my wife still gives me a hard time because I have not changed my number. And trust me, y'all using it. And I had not been mayor for a very long time, and it was incredibly upsetting and disturbing when neighbors of mine were sending videos of what was happening in their basements, many of whom were childcare workers and providers, families who had relatives living in the basement as a living corridor, and the disruption of families and our lives was quite severe.

[48:56](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2936) But no one thing, we are not alone in this collective fight to make sure that Chicago receives its just due. And where the federal government is coming up short, the city of Chicago, we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that we close that gap. But in the meantime, apply, because I do not want the federal government to come back and tell me, Mayor, you said there was a problem, but no one applied. We have to demonstrate that there's a need. We're going to get through this together, and we're going to be stronger as a result of it. God bless you all, and God bless the great city of Chicago. Thank you very much.

[49:34](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=2974) Thank you, Mayor Johnson. And that was actually a surprise. They just called me this afternoon and said that he was going to join us today. So we definitely appreciate him showing up for us here on the west side. And, again, that's one of the luxuries that we have with the mayor being on the west side, that he experiences some of the same things that we experience. He don't live far from here. He don't live in Galewood. He lives on our end of the west side. Y'all know what I'm talking about. the low end of the west side so it's not like he's in somewhere far far away so we're going to

[50:08](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss?t=3008) right now i want to ask um our um i didn't see my wife standing in the back good good evening man i'm good to see you

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Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/srMaAIb77Ss · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt