CHICAGO (CBS) — Heavy rain and flooding weren’t just dangerous for drivers on Sunday. Chicago-area homeowners are cleaning up a big mess: flooded basements.
CBS 2’s Shardaa Gray spoke with a frustrated neighbor in Jefferson Park.
Frustrated and helpless is how Elizabeth Bylenga feels after her basement is flooded with sewage.
“You’re totally panicked. You don’t know what to do and you can’t do anything,” she said.
Bylenga said she feels helpless after seeing her basement flooded. He found out when his dryer went off, but he wasn’t doing laundry.
“The alarm was going off and then I smelled smoke,” he said. “So of course I was really stupid and I jumped in the water. I was trying to move in the chair.”
He says this is the second time his basement has flooded. The first time was in May 2020.
“We went through the same type of situation where the sewer backed up,” he said. “However, we were asleep. So we didn’t see the damage that we’re seeing now, and I’m not sure if it’s the same. I have a feeling it’s worse this time.”
Bylenga says she and other neighbors had flooded basements. A viewer sent video to CBS 2 of her walking through the flooded floors.
“It’s still flooding in the basement,” he said.
Portions of the Stevenson Expressway were closed due to earlier flooding. Illinois State Police say I-55 was closed in both directions near Pulaski Road.
The video seen only on 2 shows several cars stopped. Officials say at least 10 cars were trapped in the flood waters.
It was a wet and unwelcoming Sunday in the Chicagoland area as buckets of rain poured over the area.
“I don’t really know what to do other than spend a bunch of money,” Bylenga said. “It’s going to be really fun to watch and have them dig our basement.”
Bylenga says the next step for her is cleaning up the basement mess.
Shardaa Gray
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