Plainfield commemorates tornado victims

On a day when the sky looked exactly the opposite of what it did 20 years ago, Plainfield came together again.

Residents, former townspeople and the family and friends of 29 people killed by a devastating tornado 20 years ago Saturday gathered along the banks of the DuPage River near downtown to commemorate the tragedy.

The blue sky was spotless Saturday, unlike Aug. 28, 1990 when a massive green and black cloud wall carrying nature's fury ripped a 16-mile path of chaos across the southern suburbs and destroyed parts of Plainfield, Crest Hill and Joliet.

"I just feel like we have to be here," said Sue Vaira, who lost her father Howard Hawes in the tornado. "It's so true that everyone came together 20 years ago. I don't know how we could have done it without all that help."

It was a similar sentiment shared by others who had either lived through the tragedy or helped in its aftermath.

"Many of us were desperate for help and many of us were eager to help," said Plainfield Mayor Mike Collins.

Doug and Patty O'Brien were Plainfield business owners in 1990 and moved to the city in 1996. Their store was spared by the tornado, but they worked with those in need and helped rebuild the city.

"It was our duty to come out today," they said.

State Rep. Tom Cross said a resolution he helped get approved in Springfield focused on the city's resiliency.

"It was important for members of the general assembly to remember what happened that day," he said. "But what I think is tremendous is what happened after that day."

More than 5,000 volunteers showed up to the affected areas following the storm to help cleanup the town and restore some semblance of normalcy. Debris was shipped away to three dump sites outside the city that were eventually permitted to be burned. The piles were so big it took two weeks for them to burn out.

City officials announced plans Saturday to plant 29 trees in the park along the river in honor of the victims sometime in this fall as a permanent commemoration of their stolen lives. The park is at the midpoint of the tornado's path.

"We wanted to focus on something that was a perpetual foundation of life at a place that was meaningful," said Plainfield Trustee Paul Fay.