La Grange Clears Final Legal Hurdle For Flood Project

LA GRANGE, IL – The state Supreme Court on Wednesday denied an appeal from a quarry company that wanted to stop a long-awaited project to prevent flooding in south La Grange, the village said.

"The Village couldn't be happier in the Court’s decision to deny the appeal and recognize that the quarry’s claims were unfounded," Village President Mark Kuchler said in a news release.

In the early 1990s, the company, now called Heidelberg Materials, broke a longstanding arrangement by cutting La Grange's pipe to the quarry, according to the village.

The McCook quarry argued La Grange had no such right to drain water on its property.

Three years ago, a trial judge ruled for the village, which a state appeals court affirmed a few months ago.

La Grange officials, who expected the Supreme Court's decision, were already planning to go out to bid this fall for the 50th Street storm sewer, having received major permits.

Estimated to cost $38 million, the project is expected to lessen flooding south of 47th Street.

The village said the work will be broken into phases. More than a decade ago, local voters approved a sales tax to help pay for stormwater projects such as 50th Street, which involves a 54-inch pipe.

La Grange also expects to get outside grants, including from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which handles stormwater issues in Cook County.

"We look forward to working with our partners at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District on an Intergovernmental Agreement for the project and have set our sights on getting this project out to bid,” Kuchler said.