One dead in day of flooding, road closures and power outages

The storms that pummeled the area Saturday left a 56-year-old Keeneyville man dead after he was reported missing and later found drowned in a pond, his paddle boat capsized.

DuPage County Sheriff's Department officials confirmed the victim as Patrick Jones, a resident living near the pond at Keeney Road and Foster Avenue in unincorporated Keeneyville.

According to the DuPage County Sheriff's Office, Jones was seen going out in his boat around noon.

Around 5:45 p.m., residents called the Bloomingdale Fire Protection District to report a boat upside down, and a hat floating nearby.

After a search involving scuba divers from numerous area departments, Jones was pulled from the pond around 6:10 p.m.

Sheriff's officials said he was not wearing a life vest and did not know how to swim. An investigation is now being conducted.

The tragedy followed a deluge that left more than 7 inches of rain in some areas Saturday morning, closing down portions of major roads, including Route 83 north of Oakbrook Terrace, and the Eisenhower and Kennedy Expressways.

A flash flood watch was in place across the region all day Saturday. And, with more rain expected before a break on Sunday, authorities were keeping a close watch on river levels, as the deluge caused streams and rivers to edge toward flood stage.

In Naperville, for example, the DuPage River level crept up along the Riverwalk, and the city made sand and sandbags available to residents due to the threat of more flooding.

The storm left scores of people without power, caused flooding and power outages at the Cook County jail in Chicago, prompted a state of emergency to be called in near West suburban Westchester and forced the cancellation or postponement of outdoor events across the suburbs.

At the Touhy Mobile Home Park near Des Plaines, resident Dave Luoren said he and his neighbors are used to the flooding they woke up to Saturday.

"Every year when the rain comes I've got oceanfront property," Luoren said of the neighborhood near Route 72 and Elmhurst Road.

Neighbors at the park said if no further rain falls, the roads could drain by Monday. That will give the unlucky owners of two cars time to find transportation. The cars were ruined when rain came in through the tailpipe and got into the engines.

As residents tried to dry out, ComEd crews worked to restore power.

Laura Micheli, spokeswoman for the company, said more than 172,000 customers had their power affected by the storm.

As of 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, she said, 13,600 customers were still out of power.

That includes 1,850 in the west suburbs, 5,900 in the north suburbs, and 1,200 in the south suburbs.

The deluge made a weekday rush hour seem breezy, as authorities shut down portions of major roadways on Saturday morning, sending drivers to the closest alternatives and turning the inbound Kennedy into a virtual parking lot for hours.

Among the locals closures Saturday was Dempster Street from Potter to Dee in Park Ridge; the intersection of Crescent and Chase streets, and Main Street at Hubble Middle School and also at Parkway Drive in Wheaton; parts of Finley Road south of Maple in Lombard; and Route 53 at Park Avenue in Glen Ellyn.

And in Elgin, a car got stuck overnight in a hole in the pavement after rains washed away gravel that had been filling it.

Wheaton Mayor Michael Gresk summed it up: "Too much rain came down in too short a time."

The Route 53 closure is near the Morton Arboretum, where spokeswoman Gina Tedesco said flooding also closed one of the main roads on the Arboretum property itself. The road, which leads visitors to the outdoor museum's west side, runs over the DuPage River at one point. Tedesco said visitors were being directed to an alternate route.

The weather forced the Arboretum to postpone until Sunday the International Tree Climbing Championship activities scheduled for Saturday, Tedesco said. As of Saturday afternoon, though, the evening concert performance by the Indigo Girls was still on.

Tree climbing wasn't the only summer event that Mother Nature messed with Saturday.

The Gurnee-based Lake County Animal Protection Association had planned a fundraiser/garage sale in Keeneyville, but, floodwaters invaded the neighborhood and made that impossible. Donated goods were destroyed by the rain. The money raised would have helped pet owners who can't afford to get their pets neutered.

It is the same area where the fatality occurred Saturday.

In Geneva, Island Park was closed due to flooding. People using the Fox River Trail on the east side of the Fox River had to detour from the south at the Geneva sanitary sewer plant, up to Route 25. From the north, they had to walk their bikes up to State Street and then head over to Route 25.

The Flinkow family from Algonquin were making the best of it, taking advantage of the sunny skies that appeared early afternoon.

"It won't be crowded," Ron Flinkow said.

Meanwhile, early Saturday, industrial parks in Bensenville and Elk Grove Village were deluged with water, receding by midday. While the impact was mitigated by the fact that it was not a regular weekday workday, some cars were submerged in water.

River levels will be the thing to watch today.

For example, the National Weather Service predicted the Des Plaines River posed a moderate flooding hazard, with the river level near Des Plaines at 4.42 feet as of 5 p.m. Saturday. It's expected to crest later at 5.2 feet, which means a moderate flooding hazard.

In Algonquin, the Fox River remained at a safe level at 2.4 feet, though forecasters expect conditions to worsen, with the river cresting at 3.7 feet.

In Naperville, residents who want sands and sandbags can go to Riverview Court, located off Hillside Road just east of the river, to fill and take sandbags, city officials said.

• Daily Herald staff writers Matt Arado and Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.

Rain: Eyes will be on river levels throughout suburbs today

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