My heart goes out to the Monmouth community.
I hustled up to Monmouth to see the train derailment and the storm damage in town. On my drive I talked to Sheriff Edwards; Mayor Davies; Doug Dotson, the Lenox Township Highway Commissioner; and representatives of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Ameren.
My first stop was at the train derailment site, where I talked with Doug to ensure BNSF and he, representing his township, were in agreement for road repair that was expected from the heavy transport trucks and equipment to recover the train cars and repair any damage caused to the rail.
I then made my way into town to see the storm damage and met up with Mayor Davies to walk a couple blocks.
The damage was extensive, but crews were already working to do what could be done to prevent further damage from more expected rainfall. Mayor Davies shared concerns on the generator power and backup for the wells and water treatment plants. I called IEMA to give a heads up in case a request for additional resources may be forthcoming.
On Friday, I contacted Ameren and learned that Monmouth was the number one priority for Ameren crews. I shared that with Mayor Davies when I met with him Friday afternoon. I know there were a lot of people doing great things behind the scenes to make things safe, livable and as close to normal as can be expected during such difficult times.
My hat is off to all of you who helped rebuild Monmouth as well as to the Ameren crews and others who worked around the clock.
