Blast Jolts La Grange Official From Chair

LA GRANGE, IL – A La Grange official said Monday she was again jolted from her desk chair by another big blast from the quarry in neighboring McCook.

The blast occurred last Tuesday, Trustee Beth Augustine said.

She urged residents to call the local hotline at 1-866-934-3278 to report when blasting disturbs them.

In an email to Patch on Wednesday, quarry spokesman Jeff Sieg said, "We did blast on Feb. 21 around 2:13 p.m., but there was nothing unusual to report and as per our standard practice, the blast was designed and managed to be well below the established threshold to prevent damage to any nearby structures. Plant management has not received any complaints related to our operations on that day."

A few years ago, the Hanson Aggregates mine shifted from surface mining to below the ground, which Augustine said makes a big difference.

"When you call, they'll tell you that the blasts are within acceptable tolerances," Augustine told the Village Board on Monday. "I've learned that these tolerances are based on a very old study from 1980. It was done out of state, nothing fresh, nothing based on the stone of the area."

She also said the company contends the blasting has no effect on local infrastructure. She disagreed, suggesting it impacts roads and pipes.

"You know when your house physically shakes and you're seeing new cracks on your walls continually," Augustine said. "That's not just an old house. It's happening to new houses as well in La Grange, Brookfield and Countryside."

Augustine said she was taking part in a group to put more pressure on the quarry. She urged people to join the Lyons Township Quarry Information page on Facebook, which started in 2020.

Village President Mark Kuchler said it was important to call the hotline.

"If you feel vibrations due to blasting and you do not call, the quarry likes to say nobody else is complaining, that one person is complaining," Kuchler said.

The quarry, he said, is supposed to report the number of complaints it receives every quarter.

Augustine has complained during Village Board meetings about the blasting before. In October, she said she was unimpressed with the quarry's response.