Joliet calls downtown levee project a ‘money grab’ by the feds

The city of Joliet now hopes to have a river levee built by 2028 for the downtown area.

The $12 million levee has been in the works since 2019, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated a section of downtown a floodplain over the protests of city officials.

Those protests were heard again Tuesday, when the City Council agreed to move ahead with design for the levee even though two council members and Mayor Terry D’Arcy called it a “money grab” by the federal government.

“I understand where the small business owner and the homeowner is being adversely affected, and I think we, the city, need to do this. But it is wrong. But we have no choice.”

—  Pat Mudron, Joliet city coucilman

The National Flood Insurance Program is managed by FEMA.

The downtown floodplain has forced property owners to pay the extra cost of flood insurance, something city officials believe will go away once it builds the levee. The city has been consulting with the Army Corps of Engineers while planning the levee.

The City Council last week approved a design agreement for the levee with the Army Corps of Engineers, which brings Joliet a step closer to building it.

The latest schedule is to start construction in 2027 and have the levee completed in 2028.

“It’s not going to be terribly difficult to build,” Sean Mikos, deputy director of engineering for the city’s Public Works Department told a council committee last week. “They’re going to be moving earth more than anything.”

The levee would be built along the Des Plaines River in an area north of Ruby Street where the Illinois & Michigan Canal connects with the river. Federal officials have concluded that the spot could be breached by flood waters that would seep into a section of downtown and areas just east and south of downtown.

The federal government will pay most of the cost of the project with the city’s share estimated at $5 million. But the fact that the city has to build the levee at all still is a sore spot for some, which was reflected in comments when the full council met Tuesday and approved the agreement.

“I feel this is nothing but a money grab from FEMA,” council member Pat Mudron said before voting.

Mudron made a statement saying he believes FEMA is using the Midwest to offset costs it faces when dealing with large-scale flooding in coastal areas such as occurred in September with Hurricane Helene.

Locks in place for the Des Plaines River are opened to avert flooding downtown during heavy rains, he said. Mudron still voted to move ahead with the levee plan.

“I understand where the small business owner and the homeowner is being adversely affected, and I think we, the city, need to do this,” he said. “But it is wrong. But we have no choice.”

D’Arcy and council member Joe Clement joined Mudron in calling the federal action a “money grab” but one the city could not avert.

“We do feel bad for businesses that have to pay this flood insurance,” D’Arcy said. “We all know, as Pat said, it’s a money grab.”