Flooding could create icy mess; Des Plaines River to crest

A steady, dreary downpour Saturday flooded area roadways and basements across northwest Cook County and Lake County, creating headaches but no serious injuries or fatalities, authorities said.

But no one was celebrating just yet, as the Des Plaines River was expected to crest at 8 feet in Des Plaines around noon today, according to the National Weather Service's Web site late Saturday.

That level is almost exactly when the river starts to cause moderate flooding of homes, said Mike Kozak, executive director of the city's emergency management agency.

Ed Garcia, 41, of the 1000 block of Margret Street in Des Plaines, said the water was creeping toward his single-family colonial Saturday night.

"Right now it's about half way in the back of the yard," he said. "I'm getting a little concerned."

Elsewhere, standing water in roadways and basements were being reported in Antioch, Libertyville, Wauconda, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Elk Grove Village, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Inverness, Bartlett and Hanover Park.

In Wadsworth, state road crews worked to clear clogged drains at Route 173 and Delaney Road where anywhere from 3 to 12 inches of water had pooled.

Road closures were reported in Hoffman Estates at Donna Jones and Highland; in Des Plaines on Campground Road between Miner Street and Algonquin; in Schaumburg at Woodfield Road westbound at Mall Drive and at Knollwood north of Bode.

The Cook County sheriff's department said several roads were closed, but all in the southern part of the county.

A flash flood warning and dense fog advisory was issued by the National Weather Service for almost the entire metropolitan chicago area.

Dan Coughlin, Cook County's emergency management agency coordinator said despite the expected flooding, Des Plaines is getting off easier than Riverside, where officials are predicting near-record flood levels.

"We are moving some of our assets from north Cook County to west Cook County so we can be close to that epicenter," Coughlin said Saturday afternoon.

Des Plaines, he noted had filled about 50,000 sandbags since Friday. The city's emergency management agency had placed sand and bags in four locations around town for residents to take, said spokeswoman Karen Kozenczak.

Sandbags normally fit to form whenever placed no matter what the temperature, said Coughlin, but if the sand is wet, sandbags not already placed by the time the temperature drops below freezing could become hard and not as effective.

Residents should try to have their bags in place before the temperature drops below freezing Saturday night.

At O'Hare Saturday afternoon, delays were averaging 30 minutes and 100 flights were canceled. At Midway, delays were around 14 minutes and 36 flights had been canceled by Saturday afternoon.

Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger met with Riverside Mayor Harold Wiaduck and other local officials and toured affected areas in Riverside near the Des Plaines River Saturday night.

Cook County spokeswoman Christine Geovanis said numerous county and township agencies were called to assist area towns and villages. At least 26,000 sandbags and at least 36 tons of bulk sand were distributed by Cook County officials.

If conditions worsened overnight or early Sunday, Stroger was empowered and prepared to declare the county a natural disaster area, which would open the door to federal aid for flood victims, Geovanis said.

Officials also were crossing their fingers for the overnight forecast, which called for freezing temperatures.

"We're going to probably have another icy situation like we had in the past several days, which is

pretty dire," Geovanis said. "What they're really sweating is Sunday (today)."

Icy: Recommendation is to get sandbags down before temperature drops below freezing

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