La Grange Flooding Trial Delayed 2 Months

LA GRANGE, IL – A trial to settle a dispute between La Grange and a nearby quarry has been delayed by two months, the village announced Monday.

The matter involves flooding in south La Grange. The village blames the Hanson Aggregates quarry in McCook because it cut a village drainage pipe three decades ago.

The trial had been set for July 18, but the judge delayed it last week until Sept. 19.

If the village succeeds in the litigation, it plans a multimillion project to drain water from the village's south side into the quarry property.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, village attorney Dan Stanner said Cook County Judge Neil Cohen was "fully sympathetic" to the village's position.

Hanson Aggregates pushed for a delay, which the village resisted, saying it would be detrimental to residents, Stanner said.

But Stanner said the extra time is likely to help the village.

He said one of the reasons for the delay is that the company's expert recommended the quarry expand its drainage ponds because of increased stormwater.

"The judge is very interested in finding out if, in fact, the quarry has implemented the recommendations imposed by their own expert," Stanner said. "If so, there's really not a need for a trial. There's no problem. The quarry has sufficient capacity to handle the increased flow of water."

Another reason for the delay, Stanner said, is that the judge wants to hear evidence about the quarry's income since it cut the pipe in 1992.

"It's likely to be hundreds of millions of dollars that they have made over this period of time," Stanner said. "And, therefore, it's almost no imposition at all to require them to implement the solution that their own expert recommended."

He said the two-month delay would be a small price to pay if the company presents the requested evidence to the judge.

Village President Mark Kuchler praised Stanner, who is with Chicago-based Tabet, DiVito & Rothstein.

"We as a board know that your team has the village's best interests in mind," Kuchler said. "We know that you're putting the best case forward."

Kuchler said the Village Board would meet behind closed doors in August to discuss the details of what Stanner plans to present at trial.

After flooding last June, southside residents denounced the village for waiting on litigation to solve the flooding problem. But officials said the village would be unable to pay for the 50th Street project if it took smaller measures in the meantime.

At the time, La Grange officials said they hoped to get to trial by the first quarter of 2022.

For a time, the village held out hope the quarry was interested in a settlement. In recent months, such hopes seem to have all but disappeared.

Patch left a message for comment Tuesday with a Hanson spokesman.