Rain, flooding wreak havoc across suburbs

Constant heavy downpours and flooding wreaked havoc across the suburbs today, contributing to one confirmed death and temporarily closing access to O'Hare International Airport.

A 21-year-old man drowned in Rolling Meadows after diving into a flooded retention pond more than 24 feet deep, authorities said.

Many roads throughout the region were shut down or rendered impassable - including Interstate 190 into O'Hare; the Edens Expressway at Route 14 and Peterson Avenue; and Route 20 near the Bartlett-Elgin border.

More than 50 flights have been canceled, and flights were being delayed an hour to 90 minutes, Chicago aviation officials said.

The CTA Blue Line from Rosemont to O'Hare was still closed Saturday afternoon after being shut down in the morning.

A Flash Flood warning remains in effect until 4:30 p.m. for DuPage, Kane, northern Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

Many basements throughout the suburbs were flooded as communities sprung into emergency mode, handing out sandbags and opening shelters.

Rivers and creeks throughout the area flooded their banks or were expected to flood Saturday and Sunday.

About 13,000 ComEd customers were without power early Saturday afternoon throughout Northern Illinois, with most of the outages concentrated in Chicago and suburban Cook County.

Weekend events and festivals across the suburbs were canceled or moved indoors.

Many sporting events also were canceled or postponed, with Saturday's White Sox-Tigers game moved to Sunday.

Illinois State Police closed the inbound lanes of Interstate 190 into O'Hare this morning after flooding made driving conditions unsafe. The lanes reopened about 11:45 a.m., officials said.

Passengers traveling out of O'Hare today should call their airline to check their flight status and should expect delays getting in and out of the airport.

State police closed the Edens Expressway at Route 14 and Peterson Avenue because of flooding and cars stuck on the highway.

Rivers and creeks in the region - including the Des Plaines River, the Fox River, Buffalo Creek in Wheeling, the Skokie River in Lake Forest, Salt Creek in Rolling Meadows, Weller Creek in Des Plaines, the Chicago River in Deerfield and the DuPage River in Bolingbrook - have flooded their banks or were expected to flood Saturday.

Major flooding is expected Sunday for the Des Plaines River, which already was one foot above flood stage Saturday afternoon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.

Des Plaines was among the hardest hit communities. The city went into emergency mode, with public works staff distributing sandbags at 15 locations, shutting down River Road and trying to stop water from flooding more homes.

Flooding was reported along the Fox River, with South Elgin and St. Charles Township bearing the brunt.

South Elgin activated its emergency operations plan Saturday, distributing sandbags to residents and opening an emergency shelter at 1 W. Middle St. The village is seeking volunteers to help distribute sandbags.

Elgin reported flooded basements, isolated power outages and a few residents stuck in elevators.

A few cars were stuck in high water on Route 20 near the Bartlett-Elgin border Saturday morning, while several roads in the area were closed or flooded.

The Kane County Office of Emergency Management was busy Saturday handing out sandbags and keeping an eye on the rising Fox River.

Sandbags are available at the following locations:

• The Kane County Department of Transportation office, 41W011 Burlington Road, St. Charles.

• The South Elgin Public Works Department, 735 Martin Dr.

• Lily Lake Village Hall, 43W680 Empire Road.

The county reported evacuations in South Elgin and standing water on roads throughout the county.

The weather threw a wrench into many weekend plans throughout the suburbs.

Villa Park officials canceled today's Oktoberfest events, and tonight's scheduled performances were in jeopardy.

Elgin's annual Fiesta Salsa festival, which was set to have its parade at noon, was canceled.

Other weekend events in the area - including Heritage Fest in West Dundee, Fall Fest in Huntley and Elgin's annual Housewalk - were not canceled, but event organizers reported low turnout.

Fall Fest was moved inside, while outdoor activities at the festival were canceled.

Fall Fest's lineup of bands is still scheduled to perform tonight starting at 6 p.m. in the Huntley Park District Rec Center.

The organizers of the Gifford Park Association's Historic Elgin Housewalk said the annual tour of historic homes was a "rain or shine" event.

"I still got tons of people this morning asking if Housewalk is still going on," event co-chair Karen Bach said. "I told them to bring their ponchos and umbrellas, and that's what they're doing."

The National Weather Service reported three to seven inches of rain throughout Northern Illinois Saturday morning, with steady rains expected throughout Saturday and Sunday.

The heaviest rain should move south Sunday, with the region expected to dry out Sunday night and Monday.

-Daily Herald Staff Writers Cathi Edman, Freida Gad, Charles Keeshan and Eric Peterson contributed to this report.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=234812">Storms ravage suburbs</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=234849">Rolling Meadows man drowns in rain-swollen retention pond</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=234836">DuPage battles rains, flooding</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=234840">Rain floods Fox River Valley</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=234825">Des Plaines in emergency mode</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=234809">Rains cancel Villa Park Oktoberfest</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>