Chatham woman complains for years about 'super dangerous ' pothole
CHICAGO (CBS) – A hole in front of a Chatham house has been widening for years. The homeowner tried calling the city, her alderman, but the problem only got deeper.
Now she's turned to CBS 2's Sara Machi to get her case moved to the top of the list and city crews finally showed up late Friday to fix the hole.
"It has gotten bigger and bigger over time and it is super dangerous," said Lavelle Hardy, the homeowner.
Hardy has lived on this block since 1964 and with the hole for the past five years.
"People can't believe it's still here," she said.
She said a Chicago city crew came once, damaging her driveway, but never fixing the issue. Hardy said the problem started in a small pothole, widening and deepening over time.
"I am five-seven," she said. "I can go in there and once I get in there, you won't even see the top of my head. That's how deep this is and we have been dealing with this for over five years."
Hardy didn't get in, but she first measured with a cane, then a 4-foot broom, never hitting the bottom.
"All the city does is come out, make drawings, measure it, and we never hear from them again," Hardy said.
We found at least two of Hardy's complaints in the city's 311 system from December 2021 and November of last year, both marked "closed."
She said she tried her alderman, Roderick Sawyer, who is running for mayor.
"They haven't done anything," she said. "Our alderman hasn't blinked an eye for this."
So, CBS 2 did as well. In less than 30 minutes, there was new hope. Sawyer's staff said they had emailed the water commissioner about Hardy's case, and they will be sending an inspector.
Now, Hardy hopes that will finally bring the whole hole issue to an end.