West Cook News

On July 20, Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) tweeted about the heavy storms that residents of Chicago have had to experience this month.

"Heavy storms in July have left thousands of Chicagoans with flooded basements, waterlogged furniture and mounting costs for repair," Ford tweeted.

According to wbez.org, on July 2, a record-setting rainstorm dumped 9 inches of rain on some parts of the Chicago area. WBEZ reported more than 1,400 Chicagoans filed reports of flooded basements to 311, the city’s non-emergency helpline. From July 2 to 18, more than 12,000 basement flooding reports were filed with 311, more than the number of basement flooding reports filed in all of 2021 and 2022 combined, according to a WBEZ analysis.

In Cook County, there are more than 24,000 basement apartments, and nearly half a million basements that are finished into living spaces like rec rooms, according to data from the Cook County Assessor’s office. 

Thelma McGregory-Bowns told wbez.org, she saw 6 feet of brown, murky water rushing into her daughter’s basement apartment. She said the hot water tank, furnace, washer, dryer and all of her daughter’s clothing and personal belongings were damaged. McGregory-Bowns said it would cost at least $10,000 to clean and replace everything.

On July 18, the Westside Health Authority in Austin hosted a community meeting for residents affected by the flooding.

Ford told attendees to file 311 complaints, so that they can draw state and federal attention of the flooding and possibly receive disaster relief money from the federal government. 

"If you’re not documenting that you have an issue, then it’s as if there’s no issue,” Ford said. Ford said that the Illinois Housing Development Authority is offering a competitive HAF Home Repair Program grant, which could allocate between $1 million to $5 million to a local nonprofit. The grant aims to provide up to $60,000 per house for long-term recovery and floodproofing efforts.