What is Mayor Anna M Doing For Flood Victims in Schiller Park ———Look at what steps another Mayor is taking !!!!!!!!!!

Cicero blames water agency for flooding

‘A VERY POOR JOB’ | Town president plans to file suit

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July 28, 2010

BY KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter kjanssen@suntimes.com

Severe flooding in the western suburbs might have been prevented if the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago had acted faster, Cicero’s president charged Tuesday, saying the town plans to sue.

But the MWRD says it acted as quickly as possible to deal with the estimated 60 billion gallons of rain that fell on the Chicago area over a few hours on Friday and Saturday.

Five thousand homes and 100 businesses in Cicero were flooded. The cleanup is expected to cost more than $12 million, officials say.

Addressing the Town Board on Tuesday, Town President Larry Dominick said residents watched sewer water gush up through manholes and flood major streets and then subside “as if someone pulled a plug from a bath-tub” after the Water Reclamation District opened locks to reverse the direction of the Chicago River and send flood water into Lake Michigan. The Water Reclamation District “did a very poor job,” Dominick said.

But Dick Lanyon, executive director of the MWRD, said the locks were opened at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, after the Deep Tunnel flood prevention system filled up and hours before the floods receded in Cicero.

“I can understand Mr. Dominick’s frustration, but there’s a lag time between when the rain hits the pavement and when it ends up in the river,” Lanyon said.

Cicero spokesman Ray Hanania said the town will sue because “we need to know what the Water Reclamation District did, and what its role is.”