Angry La Grange Residents Tell Off Village Board

LA GRANGE, IL — A south La Grange resident says he has been dealing with flooding for two decades. This weekend was just the latest example.

Others report suffering a form of PTSD when the first raindrop falls. With this week's flooding, wedding photos were lost. Cars were destroyed. Sewer water damaged residents' belongings.

On Monday, residents took their frustrations to the La Grange Village Board. The residents are between La Grange Country Club to the west and Hanson quarry to the east. They laid most of the blame on the quarry, but also pointed the finger at the country club. And they denounced village officials, saying they have done little or nothing to solve the problem.

Village officials say they are awaiting a settlement with Hanson Aggregates, so they can proceed with the 50th Street sewer project, which they said would help solve the problem.

But residents asked the village for relief now.

Here's what residents said at Monday's meeting:

• Bryan Grissman, S0th Street and Spring Avenue: He said Village President Mark Kuchler told him that he had driven through the neighborhood a couple of nights ago and that the president was "heartbroken." But Grissman said Kuchler would have done better getting out of his car and meeting with every single resident suffering from the flooding. "The rest of you people as well," he said, referring to the trustees. He said the village was failing residents every day, "sitting there doing nothing." "I hope you will work every single day and focus on this, not Art in the Park or art in downtown or the g--d--- pet parade," Grissman said. "This needs to be on the front burner every day."
• Julia Fullerton, 50th Street and Spring Avenue: A year ago, her family moved to La Grange from Texas, where, she noted, basements are rare. "It is unfathomable to lose personal mementos, wedding albums and baby pictures that we'll never get back," she said. She also said she wanted to stress the severity of dealing with something as unsafe as sewer water. "All of my neighbors explained why people stay here. It's like working for a bad boss, but you have really amazing co-workers, so you stay," Fullerton said to laughter.
• Casey Swanson, 50th Street and Spring Avenue: She said her family bought their dream home a month ago, but the weekend's flooding "completely devastated" it. "We have five feet of water in our basement, five feet of water in our playroom, and three to four feet of water in our garage. We have 1- and 3-year-olds who we had to carry on our shoulders to get out of our home," Swanson said. She said they have spent thousands of dollars hauling out sewage-soaked debris. "Thankfully, our lovely neighbors told us about FEMA insurance," she said. "Unfortunately, our home is totally uninhabitable. It will be a month before we can get back in. We are displaced. We have no hot water, no AC. Our two cars are totaled, along with a lifetime of memories."
• Rob Byerly, 700 block of Spring Avenue: He said he has lived in La Grange for four years, but only has been flooded twice, calling himself lucky. He noted that President Kuchler and others have called the flooding issue in south La Grange their top priority. But he said even if the village reaches a settlement soon, it would be a nine-year time frame for a solution. "I would be embarrassed if I operated on a nine-year time frame for my top priorities," Byerly said. "What the hell else do you do in life? Get it together. You should be embarrassed."
• Joe Fedoruk, 200 block of Harris Avenue: He said the problems with flooding have been happening for at least the last couple of decades. He said the village needs to involve residents with solutions. "We need you guys to help us. We can help you as well," he said. "Whenever it rains, it's PTSD." He noted the village's statement that it may reach a settlement with Hanson. "That's fine and dandy. What about a class action?" he said to applause. "We might fix the problem in 10 years. I might be dead in 10 years."
• Chuck Rickman, 600 block of Ninth Avenue: He urged the village to manage traffic better after major storms. "My neighbors and I were trying to keep the basins clear to keep the water draining. Then you have cars flying through at 30 mph, throwing water against our houses. Why are they doing it? Then I find out that La Grange Road is closed," he said. He suggested the village move traffic to another major artery such as East Avenue, "rather than into a neighborhood where all of us are in the street trying to do what we can to protect our homes."
• Lindsey Paulus, 600 block of Spring Avenue: A local real estate agent, she said she loves La Grange, but she called the flooding an "impeding" issue. "I just really hope we can get this taken care of," she said.
• Ali Bowe, 50th Street and Spring Avenue: When she was 8½ months pregnant during last year's flooding, she said, "I stood in the basement with a mop bucket catching sewer water because I felt I had to do something." This year's flooding was bad, she said. "This isn't just a little bit of water in the basement. I had 5 feet, by the way. This is my life, this is my future," Bowe said.
• Patti Ernst, 400 block of South Kensington: She said south La Grange residents are regularly seeing 100-year floods. "I'm supposed to come up with $20,000 to stop the water from backing up in our basement. We're already paying a lot in taxes," she said.

See related stories:

A 'Crappy' Neighbor To La Grange: Official

Sewage Gets Into La Grange Residents' Homes

What Is Taking La Grange So Long To Fix Flooding Issues?