Senator Durbin and the Press Conference

(Our personal flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park floods-- Record-breaking rains. )

I was walking about the neighborhood Monday morning. We still had 3 feet of water in our basement, and there was still not much that we could do.

I walked up on the bridge by the bike trail and noticed hordes of reporters and cameras. I heard that a press conference had been called for 11:30, just the time that I was taking my walk. The cameramen tend to be tall... I think it's probably a necessity in that business.

So I hung around. Senator Dick Durbin was there, along with our Alderman Marge Laurino. Someone said that our other Illinois senator, Barack Obama, had sent a representative, but I'm not sure who that was. City officials talked about when they opened the locks, why they had to wait, what they were going to do, much of which I could not hear.

They talked to homeowners, talked about getting federal disaster money, talked about projects that might have (or might still) prevent such a calamity in the future. The homes below them, on the 5000 block of Monticello were still surrounded by water.

Next part of the story: The Albany Park Flood Water is gone!

Here's a few news clips from that press conference:

Fox clip

ABC local clip

Chicagoist clip

Sun Times article

WGN radio