Some Kane County residents burning mad over flooding

Linda Allamian rammed her message to the Kane County Board home Tuesday by telling elected officials they "can all relate to what's probably hanging out" in her backyard these days.

After all, everybody goes to the bathroom. However, not everybody's backyard is flooded with the aftereffects.

Allamian and her husband, Marty, have lived for years with the reality of rising waters whenever there is a heavy rainfall. Indeed, it was back in 2003 that the Allamians and their fellow residents in Campton Hills' Burning Tree subdivision embarked with Kane County on a three-phase plan to address the recurring flooding by rebuilding failed drainage tiles.

The first two phases helped most of their neighbors. Now the Allamian family thought it was finally their turn for relief with the $54,000 phase three.

"Right now there is a huge, huge pool of water between myself and the neighbors," Marty Allamian told the county board.

But that water might stay there for awhile thanks to a twofold problem with the project's funding.

The 50-50 cost share arrangement neighbors struck with the county was put in place before Campton Hills incorporated. Now, with Burning Tree part of Campton Hills, the county believes the village has some responsibility in addressing the problem.

Kane County in January pitched a plan to pay only half of its share, with Campton Hills paying the rest. But the village recently told the Burning Tree residents it doesn't have a huge, huge pool of money to help dry up that huge, huge pool of water.

So the Allamians and their neighbors were back before the county board Tuesday asking them to live up to its original end of the bargain.

"We're in a situation now where this has literally turned into an emergency," Linda Allamian said. "My children cannot go outside because the septic field is under water. We can't live like this anymore."

Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said she planned to meet with Campton Hills officials no later than Wednesday to sort out the funding impasse.