Businesses sue Des Plaines over flood damage

Several businesses in the O’Hare Lake Office Plaza off Devon Avenue have filed a lawsuit against the city of Des Plaines for damages sustained to their property from flooding during a rainstorm July 23.

The O’Hare Lakes’ commercial office buildings surround Lake Peterson. The lawsuit claims that pumps in a pumping station failed to operate, flooding a number of businesses.

Des Plaines City Attorney Dave Wiltse said the case has been referred to the city’s risk management pool, Municipal Insurance Cooperative Association.

The complaint, filed in Cook County circuit court, states that the city breached the terms of an easement agreement with property owners that was entered into to protect the area from flooding.

The agreement allows the city to channel stormwater collected from the area into Lake Peterson and then pump the water back out of the lake into the Des Plaines River.

For that purpose, the city built a 78-inch storm sewer line running from outside the O’Hare Lakes property into Lake Peterson, and a 42-inch storm sewer line running from the eastern shore of the lake under the Tri-State Tollway into the Des Plaines River.

The city also built a pumping station and generator building on the property to maintain water levels in the lake at a certain depth to properly handle stormwater draining from the nearby residential areas during heavy rains or from melting snow.

The complaint states that the city channeled huge volumes of water into Lake Peterson during the July 23 storm that deluged Des Plaines with nearly 7 inches of rain, and the pumps in the pumping station failed so that the water either was not channeled into the river or was diverted too slowly.

As a result, the office buildings suffered extensive flood damage and many tenants were forced to close for a time. The lawsuit claims the easement agreement entitles the property owners to compensation for any losses and clean up costs due to the flooding.

On Aug. 5, an attorney for the owners sent a letter to the city demanding it fulfill its obligations under the agreement, which the city has refused to do, according to the suit.

Wiltse said it will be up to counsel for the insurance pool to review the documents and respond. “All of our litigation, we always send it to them for coverage. And if they cover it, they take it (the loss).”