The La Grange Park Board of Trustees unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to provide $4 million for the Village’s Central Area Sewer Separation Project.
“We’re this much closer to getting relief for the east side of town,” Public Works Chair Mike Sheehan told his colleagues Dec. 9 after introducing the ordinance. “It’s exciting and it’s going to be great to see the project come through. We have a great relationship with MWRD.”
Total cost of the project is $12,930,000, to be included in the 2025/2026 capital budget, which will be finalized this spring.
Besides the $4 million from MWRD, funding will be supplied by an $850,000 Housing and Urban Development grant and a $500,000 Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity grant. The rest of the funds will come from $5 million in general obligation bonds to be issued this spring and $2.58 million from the village’s reserve fund.
The proposed storm sewer will provide protection from flooding to residents in an area bounded by 31st Street, La Grange Road, Homestead Road and the IHB railroad tracks.
Currently the area is served by a sewer system that handles both sanitary and stormwater runoff, which has proved to be inadequate during heavy rainstorms.
Particularly damaging were the intense storms that hit the area in May of 2020, when the village saw the greatest property damage and basement back-up ever recorded.
The area’s topography slopes from west to east from La Grange Road with the IHB railroad being a barrier in the east. There is also a low area along Monroe Avenue between Forest and Barnsdale roads and the intersection of Barnsdale Road and Jackson Avenue, officials said.
Forest Road School is located at Barnsdale Road and Jackson Avenue, which could affect students in the case of a heavy storm.
The project will consist of installing separate storm sewers beginning at the intersection of Homestead Road and Oak Avenue, north to Jackson Avenue, east to Barnsdale Road, north to Garfield Avenue, west to Homestead Road, north to 26th Street, and north to Salt Creek.
Completion of the project is scheduled for 2028.
Being awarded the MWRD grant was contingent on the village issuing the $5 million general obligation bonds, and later in the meeting, trustees also unanimously approved issuing the bonds.
Debt service on 2006 sewer projects bonds will be paid off at the end of 2025. The debt service for the new bonds is estimated to be approximately the same as the $390,000 the village currently paid on the old bonds. And they will be paid for the same way.
“The debt service for the proposed bonds will be paid for by the sewer system fees collected from the village’s sewer system customers,” Trustee Nicholas Diaferio said when introducing the ordinance.
Diaferio pointed out that because the debt service was approximately equal to the debt service on the old bonds, no increase to the sewer rate was needed.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/lagrange-park-sewer-funding/
