Palos Hills road work causes flooding instead of preventing it

Last year, the City of Palos Hills did months of work on 99thStreet in an effort to eliminate the ongoing flooding problems in the area. New, larger drain pipes replaced ancient, broken pipes. The street was repaved and new gravel shoulders were installed. It was loud, dirty and disruptive. The neighborhood was told to endure the difficulties because the outcome would be worth it. All the water was supposed to drain more quickly to the new retention pond on 99th Street and 88th Avenue.

During the recent downpours we learned the outcome wasn’t quite as city officials promised. I walked by a house on 99th Street to find the front yard flooded. The water was just about to seep into the house. At first I couldn’t figure out where the water was coming from, and then I looked at my feet and saw water rushing from across the street.

When the company landscaping the construction area laid sod over the new piping, they didn’t leave enough of a ditch for the water to flow properly. Instead of flowing down to the new retention pond on 99th Street and 88th Avenue, it was overflowing into the area’s low spot -- the neighbor’s yard across the street.

I asked the homeowner whose ditch was causing the problems if she called anyone. She said she has called and was dismissed by Mayor Bennett’s secretary who said it wasn’t Mayor Bennett’s problem. She also tried to talk to her alderman, Al Pasek, who never returned her call. In a desperate move, she called Alderman Pauline Stratton, who came to see the problem and gave some advice.

Crazy, isn’t it? You know the work the city contractor has done is bad and try to report it. The people you expect to help you dismiss you, so you call someone who doesn’t even represent you. Alderman Stratton showed up and tried to help.

After several calls from neighbors, Palos Hills public works did come by and scratch a path in the ditch. It seemed to help during the light rains we’ve had recently, but certainly will not help if we get another heavy rain. In addition, the nearly flooded homeowner has all the loose gravel from the road in his yard. He doesn’t know who to contact about help getting that out of his yard.

The street “improvements” were a mess for neighbors from start to finish. Many people called City Hall. I don’t know of anyone who received anything other than a rude comment from the Mayor’s office or a brush-off from some other city official. I have talked to many people who are still waiting for their grass to be restored or their calls to be returned.

The upgrade was supposed to stop flooding, but the lack of attention to details --  like whether or not a ditch is deep enough -- has actually increased the problem in some areas. Of course, given the way Mayor Bennett’s office handles citizen calls, I doubt it will be properly resolved anytime soon. These people have been asking for help for not quite a year now. It’s clear by the way Palos Hills officials dismiss citizens that no one is going to help any time soon.