Chicago Flooding: Where to Avoid in Northcenter and Roscoe Village

Northcenter and Roscoe Village may not be suffering from sinkholes like on the South Side or from floodwaters overtaking cars at the Belmont underpass in Downer’s Grove, but issues are still affecting local residents.

Jim Poole, Ald. Ameya Pawar's (47th) community specialist says he’s been getting calls from residents concerned with standing water in the ward. As of Thursday afternoon, 21 reports have come in, all in different locations. 

Poole said the alderman's office, along with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, is keeping an eye on areas near the Chicago River. The MRWD opened all locks on the North Branch to prevent more flooding, temporarily causing the river to flow backwards. 

In the neighborhood, drain restrictors are causing some standing water. Those restrictors were installed to slow the flow of water and prevent basements from flooding. The standing water should continue to recede throughout the day, Poole said. 

Patch readers have reported the following areas as having heavy standing water: 

• Under the Roscoe Village bridge
• Belmont and Campbell

Rain will continue for the rest of Thursday with new rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, according to the National Weather Service. Officials predict a 40 percent chance of rain on Friday, with more rain early next week. 

The heavy rain could mean that floods reach record levels, Jonathon Monken, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, told the Chicago Tribune.

“Based on the forecasting right now, we expect to meet and exceed flood levels — historic flood levels — that we’ve seen across Illinois, in excess in Chicago of what we saw in 1986 and 1987," he said. "So record flood stages are absolutely possible."

Updated Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has declared a state a emergency because of the widespread flooding througout the state. 

In an email to residents, Pawar said the Chicago River has topped its banks at Albany Avenue in nearby Albany Park. Residents should avoid travel in that area. 

Chicago is under a flash flood warning until 8 p.m. Thursday and a flood watch until Friday morning. 

Have you spotted flooding around the North Side? Tell us in the comments, or add a photo to our photo gallery.