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Marseilles school sues barge company over flooding

MARSEILLES, Ill. — A northern Illinois school district is suing a barge company for $6.4 million in flood damages.

Marseilles Elementary District 150 officials say the school sustained significant damage in April when seven barges broke loose from a towing vessel on the flood-swollen Illinois River and hit a lock and dam, “sending unprecedented floodwaters into the city.”

Superintendent JoEllen Fuller said Monday that the district is suing Tennessee-based Ingram Barge Co. in federal court because it believes the accident was avoidable.

The flood damage forced the school to close for the rest of the academic year. Fuller says some repairs will be completed by fall, but not all classrooms will be open.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Marseilles is about 80 miles southwest of Chicago.

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