Midlothian flooding victims push relief efforts

MIDLOTHIAN, Ill. (WLS) -- Repeated flooding has some south suburban Midlothian residents looking for assistance after they say previous relief attempts have gone unanswered.

Helen Lekavich and her neighbors cringe whenever rain is in the forecast. They know it doesn't take much for floodwaters to cover the streets of their Midlothian neighborhood and pour into their homes.

They've documented it time and time again in photos and cell phone videos.

"We've had eight floods in nine weeks with less than an inch and a half of rain," Lekavich said.

Lekavich and her neighbors have bonded over the frustration of repeatedly ripping up carpet, repairing floors and replacing furniture.

They formed a group called the "Floodlothian 5," and Lekavich's garage has been their command center where they discuss the factors leading to the constant flooding in their community.

Midlothian is at a lower elevation than nearby suburbs and gets water runoff that causes Natalie Creek to overflow its banks.

"The rain can stop and 30 minutes later, we call it the Midlothian tsunami," Lekavich said. "Here it comes like a tidal wave, it has snow caps."

That's what happened just over the weekend, one more reason Lekavich and her neighbors have been appealing to village, state and federal officials for help. They've come up with a list of small projects that they say would mitigate the constant flooding problem.

Suggestions are welcomed by Midlothian's mayor, who says the first step is finding money.

"Maybe we can get grant dollars, maybe we can get state aid," said Mayor Sharon Rybak. "This last storm came through and uprooted all the trees, so devastating."

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District officials will join Rybak Thursday to tour Midlothian to see the scope of the problem.