Fox River Stays At Bay Amid Flood Warnings
CHICAGO (CBS)—A flood watch blanketing the Chicago area Thursday left residents in towns near the Fox River keeping a watchful eye on water levels tonight.
CBS 2's Charlie De Mar was live in far northwest suburban Algonquin, where residents are used to saturated water levels spilling over the river banks during rainy seasons.
Water levels on the Fox are already high. More rain could be on the way Friday, but residents in the waterfront town in McHenry County were breathing a sigh of relief Thursday.
Fishing pole in hand, Eric Jensen capitalized on the rainy day by trying his luck on what he hoped would be a good opportunity to catch a big one.
"I've never really fished the high water so I wanted to give that a try," Jensen said. "Maybe the rain stirs up the bottom, brings some bugs and stuff in from the shore—gets the fish feeding a little bit—so (I) might just get luckier."
The fish were feeding for Jensen, but on the other side of the Riverbank, the riverfront patio at Port Edwards restaurant on Route 31 and Algonquin Road was dead—despite Thursday marking the first day of summer.
"Absolutely you would be waiting in line if you came in here on a nice hot summer night," owner Ziya Senturk said.
Standing behind an empty bar overlooking the serene river water, Senturk fantasized about an ideal summer night in the back patio of his restaurant.
His voice trailed off as he got lost in his thoughts.
"They park (boats) around here, they swim, they listen to music…."
But tonight, the chairs on the sprawling patio sat empty, keeping company only to the abandoned park benches nearby.
All the boats are tucked into their docks—an unseasonal sight in this boat-friendly community.
A duck was the only sign of life on the river.
"Unfortunately, God has a mysterious start to the first day of summer, but it is what it is," Senturk said.
