Plainfield, Bolingbrook and the surrounding area joined the rest of Chicagoland Monday in digging themselves out of the so-called “Super Bowl Blizzard,” a cacophony of snow and wind that is being called the fifth-worst recorded in the region.
Officials in the towns said they received about 14 inches of snow overall.
While main routes were largely clear Monday, some Plainfield residents called foul on what they said was a lax response on the part of village staff.
Debbie Anzelc, who said she has lived on the Arrowhead Court cul-de-sac for 17 years, was angry that her court still hadn’t been plowed as of noon Monday.
“This is an ongoing situation in Plainfield,” the 56-year-old said.
Anzelc said the lack of a drivable way out Monday forced her son to not go to work and made baby sitting her granddaughter more difficult.
“We have not been able to get out of this court since Sunday afternoon,” Anzelc said.
She added that she didn’t understand why she paid the same in taxes as area folks who don’t live on a cul-de-sac and whose roads were passable earlier than hers.
“I don’t get the same amount of service,” she said.
Anzelc also said she thought the town was not dedicating sufficient resources to the issue.
She was not alone in her gripes. Each plowing update Monday on the village’s Facebook page was met with angry comments about streets and cul-de-sacs that had yet to be touched by the plow.
About 80 cul-de-sacs out of 338 remained to be plowed as of mid-afternoon Monday, according to public works head Allen Persons.
Persons said officials were hoping to have everything cleared by late Monday.
Mayor Michael Collins said Tuesday morning that all roads had been cleared and that crews were doing cleanup and salting area roadways.
Clearing the cul-de-sacs of the heavy, voluminous snow required end loaders, and the village only has two of them, he said.
The contractors hired to help clear snow also did not have their end loaders at the ready, according to Persons.
Crews worked 15-hour shifts since Saturday night, he said, but a mechanical problem with one contractor early Sunday complicated the clearing efforts.
Persons said public works would soon sit down with police department officials to review current snow removal contracts and see what could be done to clear cul-de-sacs more effectively in the future.
“We hope we could respond a bit quicker,” he said.
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Collins urged patience Monday, but said he understood the frustration of uncleared streets.
“When somebody can’t go to work because their cul-de-sac is not plowed, patience doesn’t work,” said Collins, who added that public works crews were “busting their hump” to clear the streets.
“(Sunday), it was a wet snow, harder to push and a little more labor intensive than the fluffy stuff,” he said.
Collins said the town had fielded many calls about snow removal.
“You can sense the frustration in their voices,” he said.
Parts of three subdivisions suffered power outages Sunday, Collins said, but power was restored to all of them by Sunday evening.
In Bolingbrook, public works officials did not respond to requests for comment Monday regarding the status of snow clearing.
Bolingbrook did not receive an inordinate amount of accident calls on Sunday or Monday, according to police Lt. Carter Larry.
“It appears that most people decided to stay in,” Larry said.
A few cars got stuck in the snow and had to be towed, he said, and emergency crews responded to a few minor accidents with no injuries.
In Romeoville, about 300 households lost power Sunday afternoon, but most were restored by Sunday evening, according to village manager Steve Gulden.
As of late Monday morning, Gulden said about 47 residents remained without power.
The power was back on for those residents by Monday evening, he said.
Romeoville’s plow trucks hit the streets late Saturday night, helping to keep main thoroughfares clear, according to Gulden.
Main roads “were in very good shape this morning for the commute,” Gulden said.
Side streets were in the process of being cleared Monday morning, he said.
Gulden said the town had had no major accidents in connection to the storm, mainly cars sliding off roads.
Emergency officials handled a few calls about individuals having medical issues after shoveling the snow, he said.
“We were expecting a large storm,” he said. “Our crews continued working on a 24-hour basis, different shift work, so I think we are ahead of the game.”
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