La Grange 'Fairly Vague' On Flood Project: Official

LA GRANGE, IL – La Grange hasn't held a town hall in years about flooding in the south part of the village.

On Monday, Trustee Beth Augustine said the village could hold such a meeting where it could present information and take questions.

She suggested that after comments from John Pluto, who lives on East Avenue.

Pluto pushed for more details.

"We've paid almost $2.3 million for our south basin project, and we haven't gotten a word about what's going on," he said. "We need to get some transparency on this."

He proposed a village meeting on the topic.

"We haven't had one meeting on flood control," Pluto said. "Years ago, they had meetings."

Later in the session, Augustine backed the idea of holding a meeting dedicated to the proposed storm sewer on 50th Street, a project long delayed by litigation with a McCook quarry.

That way, it wouldn't seem as if the village was keeping information from the public, she said.

Village President Mark Kuchler said he didn't know how much more communication that the village could do.

"If you're aware of something that's not being shared, that's not purposeful," Kuchler said. "We're waiting for the appellate court to rule or set it for oral argument."

In the meantime, he said the village was applying for permits for the project.

Augustine said that was still being "fairly vague."

"I know that we, from time to time, ask for a refresher," she said. "I think there are details we could share."

Kuchler said he wasn't against answering questions. He asked Augustine to let him know what more the village could share with the public. She said she would.

In 2023, a Cook County judge sided with the village over the Heidelberg Materials quarry in long-running litigation, allowing La Grange to send the water to the quarry. The company appealed.

After flooding in June 2021, southside residents denounced the village for waiting on litigation to solve the flooding problem. But officials said the village would be unable to pay for the 50th Street project if it took smaller measures in the meantime.