Zabrocki and Other Southland Mayors Want a Debt Ceiling Deal. Do You?

Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki, who was among a group of 42 in Illinois, has signed a letter saying he wants Washington to raise the debt ceiling.

Chicago's Rahm Emanuel, Orland Park's Dan McLaughlin and Palos Hills' Gerald Bennett were also on the list of those supporters of the joint memo. In it, the mayors call on Illinois' Congressional delegation and President Obama to come together on a deal.

They said the U.S. defaulting on its debts would cause "grave damage" to Illinois cities. The default will become inevitable Aug. 2 if the ceiling isn't raised, officials have said.

Congress has raised the debt ceiling 10 times during the last decade, according to the National Journal.

In part, the mayors' letter reads:

"Our businesses depend on us to provide infrastructure to allow them to move their goods and services. However, we cannot provide all of these on our own; we rely on federal programs such as the Community Development Block Grant, Community Oriented Policing Programs, and Federal Transportation subsidies to help provide these much needed services. Our seniors rely on Social Security to make ends meet. As we listen to the discussion in Washington surrounding the debt ceiling crisis, we fear that all of this is in jeopardy."

The letter can be read in full at Lynn Sweet's blog at the Chicago Sun-Times.

Confused about the debt ceiling debate? Read "The Debt Ceiling, Explained" on the NPR Planet Money blog.

To get more in depth on the debt ceiling, watch "The Debt Ceiling Debacle" video series at Newsbound.com.