County To Help La Grange With Sewer Backups

LA GRANGE, IL – Cook County is giving La Grange $325,000 to help residents pay for home projects to prevent sanitary sewer backups.

The money is earmarked for residents' backflow devices or overhead sewers.

"We don't get a lot of Cook County money here, so when we get Cook County money, we want to make sure we utilize it," Village President Mark Kuchler told the Village Board on Monday. "I really want to encourage the residents to take advantage of this."

The county's money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, which passed in early 2021.

For the last two years, the village has earmarked $50,000 annually for a program to pay half a resident's costs for a backflow device or overhead sewer. That was capped at $3,000 for a backflow device and $5,000 for an overhead sewer.

Under the county's plan, LaGrange will get $50,000 this year and $275,000 next year. Next year, Kuchler said, may be the last that the county will provide such subsidies.

As such, the village is asking residents to undertake the project this year or next.

In March, the county's transportation department contacted the village about the possibility of the money, according to a La Grange memo. La Grange was among the towns identified as having known drainage problems.

The village's sewer backup prevention program was considered eligible for the money, the memo said.

At its meeting, the Village Board voted unanimously to enter an agreement with the county for the money. Trustees Beth Augustine and Shawana McGee were absent.