Morton Grove Discusses Flood; What Flood Victims Must Do

Though Morton Grove's public works director, assistant public works director and vllage engineer spent much of Monday's village meeting explaining how Thursday's flood becamse so ferocious, it was a resident who stole the show.

Anthony Kramer, who lives near Emerson and Capri, issued a heartfelt appeal to the village board to prevent future flooding. He lives north of Mansfield Park, and said it took an inordinate amount of time for water to drain out.

"There were people who had water coming in for hours," he said. "I could look down Marmora and I could see water draining into sewer system, but by us it was knee deep."

When he asked the village board to look at the problem and thanked them, a few residents in the audience burst into applause.  

Joe Dahm, the assistant public works director, gave some stats on the storm. Rain measured 4.80 inches near Waukegan and Dempster, he said, but was heavier on the east side of the village. He noted Public Works personnel were on the streets by 4:30 a.m. Thursday responding to the flood.

Dempster Street was closed for 22 hours, he said, though most streets were passable by 1 p.m. Thursday. 

The Deep Tunnel was filled to capacity at 12:31 a.m., Dahm said, prompting the city of Chicago to open the locks to Lake Michigan to relieve pressure on the system.

Public Works Director Andy DeMonte said the state or Emergency Management Agency would add up the financial losses caused by the flooding.

Trustee John Thill noted that the onus is on residents who experienced flooding to keep track of their current and future expenses, if they hope to get reimbursement from the state or federal Emergency Management Agency. 

"Because you can go to them and say I had $15,000 in damages. And they’ll say where is your documentation," he commented.

Village Administrator Ryan Horne said the village will put information on its website about how residents can make themselves eligible to get reimbursed from FEMA for flood losses. 

DeMonte said Groot, the village's waste hauler, will pick up flood-damaged items on the next two garbage pickup days. He cautioned that residents need to cut items into sizes that one worker can pick up--for example, cutting carpet into four-foot lengths.

He also said Groot will not pick up TVs or other electronics, even those damaged by the flood. By law, those have to be recycled, and several recycling days are scheduled during the summer.

If residents have questions about garbage pickup, Dahm recommended calling Groot at 847-734-6400. 

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