For those of us who remember the 23 inches of snow we got in 1967, the summer of 2026 will not be forgotten, what with its 15-plus inches of rain in little more than two months, coupled with the recent tornadoes which cracked trees, crumpled homes and broke hearts throughout the south suburbs.
We who live here understand hard times. The chip is glued to our shoulder as if it were a badge of honor. When rain falls and winds blow, we reach for umbrellas and close the windows.
Hard times and hard work come with the territory, but what took place a week ago; the tornadoes, 4 more inches of rain, the damaged homes and smashed trees can leave even the strongest of us ready to wave a white flag.
Homewood, Country Club Hills, Glenwood, both Hazel Crest and East Hazel Crest, Markham, Lansing and Harvey were in the path of tornadoes. Meanwhile, the Bult airport in Monee chronicled a 104 mph gust of wind, making it one of the strongest straight line winds ever recorded in the state.
The following is some of what we saw and what we heard.
During the latest waves of storms, one of our friends used his generator to maintain electric power in two nearby homes and earlier this summer his garage refrigerator was used to store food from another distressed house.
The Homewood tornado chewed up much of his street. At one end, a massive tree was uprooted and smashed the garage to bits as well as a small bit of the house.
We also heard from friends who were devastated when a large tree branch crashed into their living room, knocking out power and demolishing a new furnace.
A couple of Saturdays ago, while skirting the axle-high puddles on Western Avenue in an attempt to join some friends for dinner, we glanced to our right as we passed the historic Flossmoor Country Club. Instead of swaths of green, we saw the dull, dingy colors of rainwater.
I would guess that with the aid of an overflowing Butterfield Creek, this majestic course had, for a few hours, become the largest 18-hole swimming pool in the world.
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I think other courses in the area suffered a similar fate, but we did not want to go exploring. We turned around, informed our friends that we needed to address our soggy shack on Shabbona and sloshed homeward just before most of that 4-inch rain hit us.
No one escaped
Our house is on a slab and drain tiles in back lead to a sump pump on the side, which pushes the water toward the street. But water goes where water wants to go, and this summer, a dry-wet vac, some dozen large towels and a large push broom kept us busy during storms.
One final note
At a recent Park Forest Village Board meeting, trustees heard tales of woe from residents who were overwhelmed by water in their homes, coupled with pleas demanding that the village “do something” to ease damage to their homes and surroundings.
They talked of fallen trees, overflowing drains and sewage seeping into a house.
Their moving stories of destructive waves of wind and of more than 4 inches of rain rained down on the trustees. The words “help me, help us” were never spoken but everyone heard them. One homeowner believed it was the village’s responsibility to do more, and beleaguered voices questioned what their high property taxes actually paid for.
They spoke their minds, and then silently filed out of the board room.
Following that litany of woe, the board, obviously moved, was asked to consider the payment of more than $50,000 for four wireless mobile column vehicle lifts. After a little hemming and hawing, the board tabled the item.
It was not the time. Salt would not be rubbed into wounds that night.
And now, as this is written, the forecast is for more rain this week.
Enough!
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.