In the News

Chicago Tribune, August 8, 2007

Waterlogged residents in northern Illinois were bracing themselves Tuesday for more rain -- and checking their sump pumps -- after flash floods overnight soaked basements, closed highways and forced at least 40 people to evacuate their homes in Rockford.

Hardest hit by the storms were Lake and McHenry Counties and part of southeast Rockford. At the height of the storm, nearly 50,000 Commonwealth Edison customers were without power in northern Illinois.

Nearly 7 inches of rain fell in Rockford, while McHenry and Lake Counties were drenched with 4 to 5 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Romeoville. More rain is in the forecast for Wednesday afternoon, said Bill Nelson, a weather service meteorologist.

The forecast had Michael Amici, of McHenry, hoping that his pump didn't quit.

"I've had this thing going all morning," said Amici, pumping out his flooded front yard on Anne Street, which was closed because of the high water.

The storm's impact was palpable inside the Hallstrom Center in Rockford, where evacuated families were planning to spend the night.

Homes on at least a dozen streets were affected and the water was 5 feet deep on some streets, said Robert Willis of the Rock River Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared Rockford and Winnebago County a state disaster area and dispatched the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to the area to help. The governor offered state help with debris removal, law enforcement and damage assessment and other duties.

Samil Clark, of the 800 block of 14th Street in Rockford, said two men he didn't know rescued him from his car about 3 a.m., after he tried to escape out the passenger window.

"I suddenly felt the car floating," said Clark, 33, who had been trying to drive the car to higher ground before the water on the street rose, which it did within minutes.

ComEd had restored power to more than 47,000 customers by Tuesday afternoon, but about 1,500 customers remained without electricity in the Rockford and Belvidere areas.

About 80 residents of Sunrise Assisted Living, at 180 Half Day Rd., in Buffalo Grove, were evacuated for a time after a power outage left the facility without air conditioning.

Flooding closed roads in north suburban Gurnee, Lake Bluff and Lake Forest, backing up traffic while crews scrambled to open clogged drains.

In Lake Bluff, flooding closed a section of U.S. Highway 41 for several hours beginning at 5 a.m., and a viaduct at West Grand Avenue was closed through noon while authorities worked to clear debris, police said.

In Lake Forest, the Illinois Highway 176 underpass at U.S. 41 flooded, stranding motorists in a repeat of a similar heavy storm in March that forced authorities to close the road for about 18 hours.

In March, a pumping system malfunctioned and only a trickle of water came through a discharge pipe, according to State Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest).