Record January rainfall floods Chicago streets, residents step in to clear drains

Chicago flooding woes

Chicago got hit with almost two inches of rain last night. And it all came down in just a few hours. That broke a 50-year-old record. It’s the most rain Chicago has ever seen in one January day. Streets all over the city flooded.

CHICAGO - Chicago had nearly two inches of rain falling in just a matter of hours. 

The city broke a 50-year record for the most rain it has had for a single day since January, which led to widespread flooding.

In Lincoln Square at Leland and Maplewood, storm drains were blocked with piles of leaves, mud and garbage. Within the last three and a half hours, some neighbors took matters into their own hands.

What we know:

Gustavo Chavez shoveled piles of leaves so the water would recede. He said his family has to do this a lot because leaves and mud block the storm drains around this time of year.

He described the street looking more like a lake.

After the city completes its fall street cleaning cycle, Chavez told Fox 32 no one from the city comes out to help them.  That's why he said they're constantly having to clean up their streets themselves.

"Most of the time, when it rains, it pours," he said. "We come out here and we do our best to make sure that all the drains are running. Everything is draining because most of the time we are parked in front of our house so we do our best to try and maintain everything, but after seeing this, I see it as a disaster."

Fox 32 reached out to 47th Ward Alderman Matt Martin's office for an interview. A spokesperson said he wasn't available, but his office said this is a city-wide problem, and that, he too, was unclogging drains and raking leaves around midnight.

He said the leaves are falling later than in the year, which is why the city needs to make adjustments, and he says that includes using the Office of Inspector General to audit the city's street sweeping program. Martin's solution is extending the program.

Martin also said there are trucks out today, but we have not seen them on this block in Lincoln Square.