Tagged: Leap Day Storms 2012

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.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says he's disappointed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied a request to provide disaster aid to residents in 18 southern and northern Missouri counties recently hit by violent weather.

Gov. Pat Quinn says he'll appeal the Federal Emergency Management Agency's denial of assistance to homeowners affected by the southern Illinois tornado.

Quinn issued a statement Monday saying he informed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano of his decision.

Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin and other lawmakers plan to meet with FEMA Director Craig Fugate on Wednesday to challenge the decision.

Authorities in southern Illinois say a seventh person has died from injuries suffered in the EF-4 tornado that slammed into the town of Harrisburg on Feb. 29.

Saline County coroner Doug Watson says 70-year-old Donald Smith, a retired coal miner from Harrisburg, died Wednesday night at a hospital in Indiana. Smith's wife remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Most of the victims, including the Smiths, lived along a street that took the brunt of the storm, which authorities say was 200 yards wide and packed sustained winds of 170 miles per hour.