Hinsdale Flooding Has Trapped People In Office: Owner

HINSDALE, IL – A Hinsdale business owner on Tuesday asked the village to take action on flooding, which she said has trapped clients inside four times in her two years of ownership.

Susie Thorpe, a Hinsdale resident and a pediatric language pathologist, owns Seasons Therapy Group, 811 N. Elm St., which is near local car dealerships.

The flooding, she said, has been disruptive to the office's therapy schedules.

"It causes stress for families and, at times, we've had to force cancellations because we can't get into and out of our building," Thorpe said. "Our families have had to carry kids across the street on piggyback so they can get into their cars."

She said nearby businesses are also affected. She requested that the village see what could be done.

"It's become quite dangerous for us," Thorpe said.

Officials said they would look into it.

"We know firsthand that any flood-related issues certainly cause a lot of stress for everyone involved," Village President Greg Hart said.

George Peluso, the village's top public works official, acknowledged a flooding study in northeast Hinsdale.

"There are areas where there is localized flooding that does occur," he said. "I'm not specifically aware of it in front of the business, but I'll follow up on that for sure."

In 2021, Hinsdale hired an engineering firm to study the flooding in the area of Phillippa Street and Fuller Road, a few blocks away from Seasons Therapy.

The firm completed a draft report before it went out of business the next year. In 2024, another engineer was hired to finish the work.

Also in 2021, the same neighborhood suffered severe flooding, which residents blamed on a years-long expansion of nearby Interstate 294. The Illinois Tollway later compensated residents for the damage.