Glen Ellyn gets recap of storm damage

Glen Ellyn was one of the towns hardest hit by two storms last Friday, leaving hundreds of residents without power until Sunday.

On Saturday, ComEd was reporting that between 3,000 and 10,000 customers in Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Bolingbrook and Crystal Lake were still without power.

At a board meeting Monday, public works officials in Glen Ellyn reported that three crews were out working on Friday and Saturday, helping to clear away fallen trees and branches.

"For the most part it was relatively smooth from the public works and police standpoint," said Joe Caracci, director of public works.

Police Chief Phil Norton said the department received dozens of calls regarding downed lines, not including others that called directly to 911 dispatch.

He said an unconfirmed lightning strike early on Friday caused an outage to the downtown area of Glen Ellyn.

President Mark Pfefferman said the village does have a disaster recovery plan that is re-tailored for smaller storms, such as the ones last week.

He said the village also has a communication plan with ComEd and one with residents, which he's asked village management to look at in the future.

Trustee Peter Ladesic said he'd also ask residents bring forward any questions or concerns with the way the village or ComEd handled the storm and its aftermath.

However, trustees agreed that the recovery was handled well.

"I think that the crews did a great job," Trustee Carl Henninger said.

Caracci said much of the brush that accumulated on Friday has already been picked up south of Roosevelt Road; crews will continue pickup for the northern portion of Roosevelt Road. All pickups are expected to be complete by Wednesday.

Anyone with input should contact the village through its Web site, glenellyn.org.