Darien Takes Heat From Residents Over Flooding

DARIEN, IL – Darien residents complained Monday about flooding in their neighborhoods, saying the city must do something about it.

The worst recent storm was on the Fourth of July.

At a City Council meeting, aldermen authorized an engineer to study the July 4 flooding. The goal is to find the causes.

During the meeting, residents from Gail Avenue, Ailsworth Drive and the Holly Park area spoke about their experiences.

'That's shameful'

Residents in the low-lying area of Gail Avenue, which is next to the major intersection of Cass Avenue and Plainfield, spoke about water getting into their basements.

Some blamed DuPage County for building up the elevation of the two thoroughfares years ago. They also noted a power loss, affecting sump pumps.

"What will you all do for us as your constituents? What will you do when you talk to DuPage County?" Gail Avenue resident Josh Kukec said. "We pay enough taxes that something more can be done."

He criticized the city for only putting two dumpsters for Gail residents to throw away their damaged belongings.

"That's shameful, and you know it is," he told aldermen.

Dan Gombac, the city's public works director, said Darien would await the flooding study, which is expected to take up to two months.

He suggested the city may have to buy homes in the low-lying area of Gail. Other towns make such purchases of flood-prone properties to convert land into open spaces that soak floodwater.

'I told you so'

Kyle Taylor lives on Ailsworth Drive, which is next to a nearly completed townhome development in neighboring Woodridge.

He and others blamed Woodridge's approval of the complex, which they said caused more flooding. But he also criticized Darien officials.

"Everyone likes to whip a dead horse, so I want to get my strokes in on you guys," he said. "You guys are elected officials. You guys have to work with the county and surrounding neighborhoods."

Taylor said his house took several inches of water.

"I'm standing up here with a very unfortunate, 'I told you so,'" Taylor said. "This is the first time you guys have ever seen me at one of these meetings. That should tell you something. I'm not happy."

Mayor Joseph Marchese said he had spoken with a Woodridge official last week. He said Woodridge had cut the number of townhomes to 100 on the site in question, from 220.

"To me, that still seems like a lot," the mayor said. "I don't know what conditions they have set up to keep water from coming to your property from over there, but I'm sure that would be something that they would look at."

'It did happen'

Ward 4 Alderman Gerry Leganski spoke about his constituents suffering from sanitary system backups during the recent storms.

In Darien, unlike some older towns, the storm and sanitary sewer systems are separate. That means stormwater should not enter sewage systems and cause backups.

Leganski said the city should explore cracks and breaches in the system. He also wondered whether someone was illegally pumping stormwater into the sanitary system.

On July 4, near the Darien-Woodridge border, including Ailsworth, rainfall was measured at 4.9 inches within just over an hour, Gombac said.

Was it a 500-year storm in Darien?

"My opinion is yes," said Gombac, the public works director. "In parts of Darien, it did happen."

'Going out to people's homes'

The mayor said the city was sympathetic to the residents.

"We're going out to people's homes and have seen their homes, some of the more serious situations," Marchese said. "We've had friends and neighbors who took water on."

Darien officials are not alone in hearing frustrations after major storms. In summer 2021, residents in La Grange and Western Springs spoke out against their local officials after flooding.

This latest go-around, both towns appeared to have fared better than Darien. Back in summer 2021, relatively little was heard about flooding in Darien.