ARCHER HEIGHTS — Rams Gonzalez was working in the basement of his Southwest Side home in August when the water started to come in.

“I tried to take things in, but it was flooding around me and coming around my legs,” said Gonzalez, a multimedia artist who works from home. “It was gross.”

The Archer Heights resident of 15 years was one of thousands of Chicagoans impacted by the torrential downpour in August. Over 50,000 people in the Chicago area lost power during the storms — only two weeks after a July storm flooded people’s homes and a Southwest Side mall.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued proclamations to request federal disaster recovery assistance for neighbors who experienced flooding during the storms. Through Sunday, representatives fr

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