...During a visit Monday to a southern Illinois corn and soybean farm, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced that drought-affected farmers would be eligible for state debt restructuring and loan programs in addition to the aid the USDA announced last week...

...During a visit Monday to a southern Illinois corn and soybean farm, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced that drought-affected farmers would be eligible for state debt restructuring and loan programs in addition to the aid the USDA announced last week...

...row of hay and get $35 for it, you figure it up," he said. THE IMPACT A declaration would mean that drought-affected farmers could qualify for low-interest emergency loans or possibly financial assistance from the federal government.

...he said. "Specific criteria had to be met for that claim to be approved," Mr. Loyd said. Among them, the affected farmer must have participated in a farm loan program and been denied between 1981 and 1996 and must have filed a discrimination...

...debt to them. The decision on that point of contention is still pending. De Strickland, who has organized the affected farmers into The Cotton Group, said farmers are frustrated that they can't find out exactly what happened to their millions...