Western Springs Asked To Deal With Flooding

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — Western Springs President Alice Gallagher again pledged this week the village would not "kick the can down the road" on flooding.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, Springdale residents Megan Jones, Mike Delfini, Chris Kell and Tom Power addressed the Village Board about flooding in their area, according to village notes. They were seeking village action.

Officials responded that a joint meeting of the village's public works and finance committees would be held Aug. 9 to review staff ideas and options on dealing with flooding.

Gallagher said the village would address flooding in the Springdale and Ridgewood neighborhoods, which are typically the hardest hit in the village. Late last month, Springdale in particular suffered major flooding.

The village's attorney, Michael Jurusik, told the residents that village staff would like to obtain more information about how the water is coming into Springdale houses.

The village releases videos of its board meetings. But because of a technical issue, it had no audio for the first 23 minutes of this week's session. That part of the meeting included the public comments, likely the most spirited portion.

At a meeting last month, Springdale residents took Western Springs officials to task for not doing more to solve drainage issues. The meeting was held June 28, just two days after the flooding.

In the spring, an engineering firm hired by Western Springs estimated it would cost $2.5 million to $3.1 million to address flooding in Springdale, which is in the village's southeastern corner.

Officials in La Grange, Darien and other nearby towns have also taken heat for drainage issues.