An Answer On La Grange Alley Potholes: Caregiver

LA GRANGE, IL – More than three months ago, a caregiver for a resident in a group home asked La Grange to fix the potholes in an alley where garages face.

Caregiver Mary O'Dowd said she got no answer.

Then she wrote back more than two months later. She was told in an email that the village had repaired the alley in the back of the 700 block of South La Grange Road.

The problem, she said, was nothing had been done.

(Update to the story as of June 14, 2023: O'Dowd wrote in a post to this story, "Great news: Workers were out repairing the alley this morning! ... (T)hanks, Village of LaGrange for doing the right thing." Her post appeared one day after the story appeared.)

Her first communication was through La Grange's online system for requests such as filling potholes.

"The alley is rife with large potholes, which are especially dangerous to navigate during heavy rainfall," said O'Dowd, who provides care for a friend. "Aside from my concerns about damage to my vehicle – and other vehicles using the alley – I fear for the safety of my friend, who often needs support while walking."

After O'Dowd wrote a second time on May 15, an employee responded 10 days later.

"These potholes have been filled on a couple of occasions since your initial request," the employee said. "At this time there are no plans to resurface the alley, but it is now on the radar for a future project."

O'Dowd responded that she has seen no such work. But she did notice pothole repairs in the same alley one block to the north. She said she believed the village may have been referring to that part of the alley in its reply.

She said she got no further response. So she took her concern to Monday's Village Board meetig. She said the lack of a return message was "unacceptable."

The house in question, she told the board, was a group home for Helping Hands, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with disabilities.

"The special needs clients, their amazing dedicated staff and all the taxpayers who reside along the alley deserve to be safe," O'Dowd said. "Please do the right thing and make that happen."

Village President Mark Kuchler said he would ask Village Manager Jack Knight to begin an investigation and see what can be done with the alley.

"We can always improve on our communication," Kuchler said.

On Tuesday, the same village employee emailed O'Dowd, "The request was closed."

O'Dowd told Patch, "Wrong answer from the Village of LaGrange. Guess I'll be back at the next meeting."