Orland Park came up relatively unscathed from the record rains that fell on the south suburbs over the weekend. Village officials attributed the good news to recent sewer and drainage improvements.
McLaughlin said at Monday's Village Board meeting.
"This was the first glimpse of the village under stress."
McLaughlin said streets, parking lots and housing subdivisions remained mostly flood-free despite the 13 inches of rain that fell on Orland Park over a three-day period.
It was a stark departure from the past, when heavy rains would typically overwhelm the village's drainage capacity and force residents from low-lying areas to bail water out of their yards and basements.
Village Trustee Kathleen Fenton said it was the first time in her memory that heavy rains did not put portions of her neighborhood in ankle-deep water.
"For the first time along Cedar Street at 85th and 86th avenues, it did not overflow," she said.
McLaughlin added that the public works department, as a precaution, did do sand-bagging in a few flood-prone areas of the village.
--Carmen Greco Jr., Special to the Tribune
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