Latest news with #MetropolitanWaterReclamationDistrict
Chicago Tribune
30-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
La Grange Park funds flood relief project, OKs local grocery tax
A project in La Grange Park meant to address flooding problems won't result in higher water and sewer rates for residents after the La Grange Park Board of Trustees unanimously approved an ordinance to issue $5 million in bonds May 27 to help fund the Central Area Sewer Separation Project. 'The annual debt service on the proposed bonds is anticipated to be nearly equal to the current debt service and therefore no increase in the sewer rate is required,' finance chair Robert Lautner told the board before the vote, referring to 2006 sewer bonds whose debt will be retired this year. The debt service on the 2006 bonds is approximately $390,000 per year. The debt service for the new bonds will be paid for by revenue from the village water and sewer system customers at their existing rate. The current estimated cost of the Sewer Separation Project is $12.5 million. The village had previously accepted $4 million in funding assistance from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and, in doing so, committed the village to issue up to $5 million in bonds to help finance the project. Costs above the $9 million from the bonds and MWRD money will be paid by other grants and village reserves, officials said. The project is designed to provide flooding relief to the area of the Village bounded by 31st Street on the north, La Grange Road on the west, Homestead Road on the south, and the Illinois Harbor Belt railroad on the east. The area contains local low areas, including the intersection of Barnsdale Road and Jackson Avenue, and on Monroe between Forest and Barnsdale roads which have suffered increased flooding in recent years. It was particularly hard hit by the May 17, 2020, floods that devastated parts of La Grange and La Grange Park. Separating the Forest Avenue, Homestead and Barnsdale roads storm sewers from the storm sewers along 31st Street will provide relief to the area, officials said. Tentative estimates indicate the bonds will be put out for sale before the end of July and the bond closing would be by August 18, 2025. In other business, the board addressed a potential budget shortfall by approving a municipal grocery sales tax of one percent. The tax is scheduled to begin January 1, 2026 and will replace the state grocery sales tax that expires at the end of 2025. 'The village's estimated grocery sales tax revenue is between $250,000 and $300,000,' Lautner said introducing the ordinance. He also noted that the village's fiscal year 2025-2026 budget approved the grocery sales tax as revenue in the General Fund. 'As a resident and a taxpayer, I hate that we have to continue this tax and potentially miss the opportunity that we might be able to save a little,' Lautner said. 'But the other side of that coin is that to lose the significant revenue of over a quarter million dollars would have a direct impact on the services this village provides, and that's something we cannot afford to do.' The tax was approved unanimously, but some trustees did so grudgingly. 'I see no way around it, so I'm going to support it,' Trustee Michael Sheehan said. His colleague Karen Koncel called it 'a necessary evil.' 'I know we need the revenue, but this is definitely not my way of pursuing that revenue,' she said. The next La Grange Park Village Board meeting will be 7:30 p.m., June 10 at 447 N. Catherine Ave.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Field grows for successors to Robin Kelly, 5 either running or exploring options
The field of potential successors to Robin Kelly as 2nd Congressional District representative is growing, with five people either announcing their candidacy or exploring a possible run. This week, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller said she's formed an exploratory committee comprised of south suburban mayors to study her options. Yumeka Brown, a commissioner with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and Matteson village clerk, said Tuesday she is a candidate after initially forming a group to explore a run. She is also president of the Rich Township Democrats. Lynwood resident Eric France, whose father worked for several Chicago mayors, plans to announce his candidacy at a news conference Saturday in Burnham. With Kelly running to replace U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who's not seeking reelection, Kelly's representative seat in Washington appears up for grabs, but with the primaries still nearly a year away the field of contenders could grow or shrink. Kelly served in the Illinois House and won a special primary in 2013 for her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, had previously said he is a candidate for Kelly's House seat. Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin has formed an exploratory committee to consider a run. Miller, a Lynwood resident in her second term as 6th District commissioner, was elected to the Cook County Board in November 2018 after winning the Democratic primary that March. Miller is vice president of the Illinois Democratic Women organization and former president of the Democratic Women of the South Suburbs. She said Wednesday her exploratory committee is comprised of Dolton Mayor Jason House, Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson, Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld, Lynwood Mayor Jada Curry, Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa, Olympia Fields Mayor Sterling Burke and South Holland Mayor Don DeGraff. The oddly shaped 2nd Congressional District stretches about 140 miles along the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana border, from 43rd Street on Chicago's South Side to south of Danville in central Illinois. The district includes all or parts of Blue Island, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Flossmoor, Glenwood, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Markham, Matteson, Monee, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Thornton and University Park. If Kelly, a seven-term Democratic congresswoman from Matteson, stays in the Senate race, she would be unable to run for reelection in the House. She previously told the Chicago Tribune she won't circulate petititions later this year to run for another congressional term. Chalmers-Currin, sworn in for her third term earlier this month, said she was working with business leaders and elected officials to study a possible bid for Kelly's job. Peters took office as state senator in January 2019 to succeed Kwame Raoul, now state attorney general. Peters' district is entirely in Chicago, taking in all or parts of communities including the East Side, Hyde Park, Kenwood and South Chicago. France, of Lynwood, heads up The France Group, a management consulting firm started by his father, Erwin France. Erwin France spent nearly 20 years in public service beginning in 1967 when former Mayor Richard J. Daley brought the St. Louis native to Chicago as one of his administrative assistants, according to a Chicago Tribune obituary. He worked in consulting jobs with city agencies during the administrations of former Mayors Michael Bilandic, Jane Byrne and Harold Washington, according to the obituary.
Chicago Tribune
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Field grows for successors to Robin Kelly, 5 either running or exploring options
The field of potential successors to Robin Kelly as 2nd Congressional District representative is growing, with five people either announcing their candidacy or exploring a possible run. This week, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller said she's formed an exploratory committee comprised of south suburban mayors to study her options. Yumeka Brown, a commissioner with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and Matteson village clerk, said Tuesday she is a candidate after initially forming a group to explore a run. She is also president of the Rich Township Democrats. Lynwood resident Eric France, whose father worked for several Chicago mayors, plans to announce his candidacy at a news conference Saturday in Burnham. With Kelly running to replace U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who's not seeking reelection, Kelly's representative seat in Washington appears up for grabs, but with the primaries still nearly a year away the field of contenders could grow or shrink. Kelly served in the Illinois House and won a special primary in 2013 for her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. State Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, had previously said he is a candidate for Kelly's House seat. Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin has formed an exploratory committee to consider a run. Miller, a Lynwood resident in her second term as 6th District commissioner, was elected to the Cook County Board in November 2018 after winning the Democratic primary that March. Miller is vice president of the Illinois Democratic Women organization and former president of the Democratic Women of the South Suburbs. She said Wednesday her exploratory committee is comprised of Dolton Mayor Jason House, Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson, Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld, Lynwood Mayor Jada Curry, Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa, Olympia Fields Mayor Sterling Burke and South Holland Mayor Don DeGraff. The oddly shaped 2nd Congressional District stretches about 140 miles along the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana border, from 43rd Street on Chicago's South Side to south of Danville in central Illinois. The district includes all or parts of Blue Island, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Flossmoor, Glenwood, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Markham, Matteson, Monee, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Thornton and University Park. If Kelly, a seven-term Democratic congresswoman from Matteson, stays in the Senate race, she would be unable to run for reelection in the House. She previously told the Chicago Tribune she won't circulate petititions later this year to run for another congressional term. Chalmers-Currin, sworn in for her third term earlier this month, said she was working with business leaders and elected officials to study a possible bid for Kelly's job. Peters took office as state senator in January 2019 to succeed Kwame Raoul, now state attorney general. Peters' district is entirely in Chicago, taking in all or parts of communities including the East Side, Hyde Park, Kenwood and South Chicago. France, of Lynwood, heads up The France Group, a management consulting firm started by his father, Erwin France. Erwin France spent nearly 20 years in public service beginning in 1967 when former Mayor Richard J. Daley brought the St. Louis native to Chicago as one of his administrative assistants, according to a Chicago Tribune obituary. He worked in consulting jobs with city agencies during the administrations of former Mayors Michael Bilandic, Jane Byrne and Harold Washington, according to the obituary.
Chicago Tribune
17-04-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Body found near Thornton Composite Reservoir, medical examiner says
An autopsy was set for Thursday for an unidentified body found near the Thornton Composite Reservoir in south suburban Thornton, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. The body was found Wednesday morning and was pronounced dead at 11:41 a.m. at the scene near 17200 block of State Street in Thornton, the medical examiner's stated. The office did not provide a suspected age, race or gender of the victim and it was unclear how long the body had been there or its condition. A part of the long-term Deep Tunnel stormwater project, the composite reservoir significantly reduces flooding and the backflow of untreated sewage into Lake Michigan by storing combined sewer overflow during floods before release to the Calumet wastewater treatment plant, according to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. The reservoir is also the largest combined sewer overflow facility in the world, according to Wastewater Digest. Thornton police and officials from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago weren't immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
CBS News
02-04-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
As heavy rain soaks Chicago area, officials issue "Overflow Action Day" to urge people to use less water
Even before steady and often heavy rainfall began falling across the Chicago area on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District was urging people to cut down on their water use, to help limit flooding . The MWRD handles stormwater management and wastewater treatment in the Chicago area, and issued an overflow action alert on Tuesday in an effort to prevent flooding by limiting how much water goes into the sewer system. On days like Wednesday, when it's constantly raining, the MWRD water waste control room stays on high alert. Officials said there have been more weather alerts in recent years. While it might not be the first thing on your mind when you wake up on a rainy day, running your dishwasher and washing clothes are chores the MWRD wants Chicagoans to avoid on Wednesday. "Also, take shorter showers; anything you can do to make sure we have more space available in those local sewer lines so that water can get to the MWRD," said MWRD president Kari Steele. The number of overflow action alerts issued by MWRD has been rising. "It's not that often, but it is picking up more now, because of climate change. We're starting to see more extreme rain events in the Cook County area," Steele said. The MWRD's Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, also known as TARP or "The Deep Tunnel," is designed to reduce flooding and pollution caused by combined sewer overflows. The Deep Tunnel system is designed to capture stormwater and sewage that otherwise would flow into local lakes and rivers – or into basements – when heavy rain overwhelms sewers. TARP has three reservoirs that receive and store the flow from the tunnels during heavy storms. "Our Thornton Reservoir is just at about 2% capacity full, and the McCook Reservoir is at about 20% capacity," Steele said. As of Wednesday morning, the Majewsi Reservoir near Elk Grove Village was empty, but with the rain event being unpredictable, that's why the MWRD sends out overflow action day alerts before storms arrive. "It's very important that we have space available in the local sewer lines so that it can travel to the MWRD and stay out of those unwanted places, like our basements," Steele said. The overflow action day alert will stay in effect until after the storm ends. Officials typically keep such alerts in place for several hours, or even day or two after a big storm ends since stormwater will continue flowing into sewers long after rainfall is over. The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan has been around since 1985. It has 109 miles of tunnels, some as large as 33 feet in diameter.
