NewsFriday, August 24, 2007 11:11 PM CDT

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N. Illinois awaits more rain, cleans up storm damage

By Dan Strumpf
Associated Press

PROSPECT HEIGHTS -- Residents of this waterlogged Chicago suburb helped build a wall of sandbags along a perilously high Des Plaines river just north of O'Hare International Airport on Friday as they braced for more rain on the heels of a powerful storm.

A day after torrential thunderstorms and high winds pounded the region, knocking down thousands of trees and limbs and scaring Chicago with a tornado warning, some areas were scrambling to bail out from floodwaters and nearly a quarter-million people in the metropolitan area remained without power.

Rivers overflowed bridges in at least one outlying suburb, and more residents evacuated from low-lying homes near swollen rivers.

As much as another 1 to 2 inches of rain was expected to pelt the region by Friday night, although the likelihood of a repeat of Thursday's powerful storms was not great, said National Weather Service meteorologist Nathan Marsili.

``There is still the potential for severe weather, especially in the south and southwest suburbs,'' he said. But ``it looks like more of a rain event than a severe-weather event.''

Some flooding occurred in the area around Prospect Heights, six miles north of O'Hare, and the fear was that worse was coming.

``The river is so quiet for so many years,'' said Mark Bednarowicz, a 57-year-old computer programmer whose home sits at the edge of the flooded area, as he filled sandbags. ``For everybody it's a shock it (flooding) happens. ... Everybody's scared.''

About 300 people were working to pile sandbags against 4-foot-high concrete barriers, aided by backhoes and bulldozers.

``It's just getting worse,'' said Prospect Heights Fire Chief Don Gould. ``All these people will be flooded out if we don't move quick.''

None of the local homeowners had been evacuated as of Friday afternoon. O'Hare operations are not threatened by the flooding.

Rising water on the Fox and Des Plaines rivers prompted authorities to increase the flood alert level for northern Lake County to red, the highest level. The Fox River was approaching 50-year elevation levels, with flooding possible this weekend when water from rain-drenched Wisconsin arrives downstream.

``If the trend continues, several communities along the river are at risk,'' said Joe Hmieleski, acting operations manager for flood response at the county's Stormwater Management Commission.

Fifty-five miles west of Chicago in DeKalb, the Kishwaukee River reached near-record levels, spilling over its 15-foot levees, flooding nearby neighborhoods and making all but two bridges in the community impassable.

About 600 residents of DeKalb and nearby Sycamore have been displaced by the rising water, said DeKalb city manager Mark Biernacki.

``It's pretty bad,'' he said.

At nearby Northern Illinois University, administrators closed their flooded DeKalb campus and warned nonessential workers to leave campus as soon as possible.

The latest rains made this the wettest month ever in Rockford, 80 miles northwest of Chicago, with nearly 14 inches in August. Chicago itself has endured its fifth-wettest August with 9.12 inches, the most since 2001, with a full week left to go in the month.

Will County got the biggest soaking from Thursday's storm, with 5 to 6 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Mount Prospect, next to Prospect Heights, had 4 inches.

Ironically, Gov. Rod Blagojevich cut more than $1 million worth of flood-control money out of the state budget before signing it into law Thursday. The cuts include $900,000 for projects in Prospect Heights, Lemont, Homer Glen and Toulon, and $500,000 for flood-control planning and projects by the Department of Natural Resources.

Prospect Heights Mayor Rodney called the elimination of $100,000 earmarked for a new levee in his community ``a kick in the shorts.'' ``There are a lot of people who are really upset,'' he said. ``They're all out here sandbagging.''

Blagojevich didn't want to talk about cuts in the budget at an appearance Friday afternoon in northern Illinois. But he said there have been increases for issues like flooding. He didn't elaborate.

The governor declared Cook, Lake, Kane and McHenry counties state disaster areas due to flooding that worsened following Thursday's storms, which he said will ensure they get the state help they need.

About 233,000 customers in northern Illinois remained without power at midday, said ComEd spokeswoman Anne Prammaggiore. Power to another 300,000 customers had been restored since Thursday's storm. Prammaggiore said 230 crews were coming in from out of state to help over the weekend, but it was expected to be several days before power was fully restored.

Chicago city officials defended the decision not to set off sirens during Thursday afternoon's tornado warning. They said the weather service had advised them that the storm was diminishing as it neared the city, but it picked up again as it approached.

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Utica, Ill., residents band together to fill sandbags along Main Street after severe storms caused the flooding of several streets early Friday, Aug. 24, 2007. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, David Manley)

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