No Movement On La Grange Flooding Settlement: Official

LA GRANGE, IL – La Grange’s village president had bad news Monday on the effort to reach a settlement with a nearby quarry. The quarry, officials say, is key to solving the village’s flooding problem.

At a Village Board meeting, Village President Mark Kuchler reported on the talks with Hanson Aggregates quarry in neighboring McCook.

“Since our last meeting, the village participated in a court mediation session with Hanson quarry that unfortunately was not very productive,” Kuchler said. “It was no real movement toward a settlement.”

Kuchler told trustees the village’s attorneys this week will depose the expert witness for the quarry.

“We believe that this is a big step on moving us toward completion of pretrial steps, and again, we’ll be asking the judge this month for a trial date,” Kuchler said.

In late June, flooding in south La Grange enraged residents, who showed up at a Village Board meeting to demand the village take action. A village attorney responded that the village aimed to get a trial in the first quarter of next year in Cook County Circuit Court if the village was unable to reach a settlement with Hanson.

The first quarter of 2022 is 17 days away.

In the spring, the village hired the Chicago-based Tabet, DiVito & Rothstein law firm, with Kuchler saying it specializes in trials.

In 2015, the village's voters approved going into debt for the 50th Street storm sewer project, but that hinges on a successful outcome in the litigation. Some residents are upset that the village is relying on the legal matters to solve the flooding problem, contending that officials should consider short-term solutions.

The village is trying to install a drainage pipe across the quarry's property, alleging the quarry cut the former pipe in the early 1990s in violation of an easement. The south side has been suffering major flooding issues for years.

Hanson Aggregates has not returned messages for comment.