Blasting 'A Big Deal' For La Grange Residents: Official

LA GRANGE, IL – Area companies who do blasting in their quarries don't seem to think it's a "big deal" for residents in towns such as La Grange, an official said Monday.

At Monday's La Grange Village Board meeting, Trustee Beth Augustine said she took part in a recent Zoom meeting with others on the Lyons Township Quarry Council. Representatives of quarries in McCook took part.

"They talked about the calls they received from different municipalities, claiming there weren't many," Augustine said. "It didn't seem like a really big deal to them. We who feel the blasts, get the dust, are troubled by the trucks, it's a big deal for us."

"They don't seem to feel that," the trustee said. "They talked very casually about most things."

She again urged residents to check the 4-year-old Facebook page focused on blasting. She said participants on the page are forming a group.

Residents have felt no blasts lately because the quarries are on hiatus due to low demand for road materials in the winter, Augustine said.

"But they'll be picking up again in March," she said

Residents are encouraged to call the Quarry Council's hotline at 1-866-934-3278 to report issues with the blasting. The quarries in McCook handle the hotline.

Augustine has repeatedly raised issues with quarry blasting over the last couple of years.