Residents of Chicago suburb drenched by flood waters demand help from government
CALMET CITY, Ill. (CBS) -- The clean-up effort is still underway in one south suburb where severe flooding caused major headaches.
Nearly two weeks later, some are still struggling to get answers.
Only on 2, CBS 2's Andrew Ramos spoke to a family dealing with a moldy mess in Calumet City.
After devastating floods caused widespread damage in the south suburbs, getting back to normal hasn't exactly been easy for some.
CBS 2 first met Elaine Anderson and her brother Robin Davis. It was two days after the storm when they gave us a peek inside the lower level of their rental property on Clyde Avenue.
The damage was extensive. And the smell...
"You could begin to smell it back here. It stinks!"
More than a week later, it's only gotten worse.
"This makes your eyes burn. The stench down here it's just terrible."
The family is currently in limbo with their insurance company, waiting to get more answers on whether or not the damage, which includes two cars, will be covered.
The landlord for the rental property, First Key Homes, they said, has not done much of anything.
"We've been here almost two weeks. The odor is terrible and we are feeling sick in this house. And nobody is doing anything," said Elaine Anderson, who was impacted by the flooding.
After reaching out to the mayor's office, city inspectors showed up at the home this week where they assessed and documented the damage, noting a 16-inch high watermark in the basement.
The city now providing some guidance to renters like Anderson who find themselves in a situation where their landlord is not addressing problems on the property - urging them to file a complaint with the city's fair housing coordinator.
Which she now did.
It's unclear if First Key Homes had any sort of flood coverage on the house which would cover some of the damages in this case.
CBS 2 reached out to their regional office and we were told they were "looking into it"
The city, which recently approved $1 million in relief funding for impacted residents, is currently asking homeowners to fill out a residential flood form that will be used to assess their damage to see how much they'll be eligible for.
"It's garbage. Yeah, everything here has to go."
With a mother with congestive heart failure and a daughter and granddaughter both with asthma, Anderson's concern is now outweighing frustration.
"We have a lot of family members who are concerned about us, but where are we supposed to go," asked Anderson.
Mayor Thaddeus Jones is scheduled to make his State of the City address this Saturday, where he's expected to give residents an update on flooding and hopefully some guidance on what happens next.
Late Thursday evening, CBS 2 got a response from the property management company, First Key Homes. A spokesperson apologized and said they would quickly work to make the necessary repairs:
"We deeply regret the recent service lapse affecting our valued resident. While we immediately addressed the initial issue caused by wide-city flooding within 24 hours, our follow-up fell short of the high-quality standards we set for ourselves. We have hired a leading service provider to commence remediation work immediately today. Our local Chicago office and its dedicated maintenance and construction teams will oversee the project and be present and available to the family. All necessary measures have been pre-approved to expedite the resolution of these issues. We are also addressing the communication breakdown between our call center and the local office with a comprehensive review. Our commitment to our family of residents' well-being and trust is unwavering, and we apologize to the family for this situation and will be providing an appropriate concession."
