Over the past four days DNAinfo|Chicago reporters Linze Rice and Benjamin Woodard have written two topical articles on the dumping of “long-standing water” from the Edgewater Medical Center basement into the Chicago sewer system. The first article, written on November 15th by Ms. Rice and Mr. Woodard, reports on the putrid odors pumping at the 5700 N. Ashland Ave site was producing in the West Edgewater/Andersonville neighborhood and homes. The second article, written two days later on the November 17th by Mr. Woodard, reports on the MWRD’s halting of the dumping. Apparently, the new owner of the property, Sedgwick Acquisitions, LLC, had not secured the proper permit for the discharge. Sedgwick Acquisitions, a venture of MCZ Development, plans to raise the parking garage and construct 19, high-end, single-family homes there. In an earlier DNAinfo|Chicago article Mr. Woodard reported on the sale of the garage property to MCZ Development at the end of this October for $3.6 million, and the pending sale of the remaining EMC property to the company for another $3.9 million.
If you were impacted by the dumping, the MWRD Hazardous Waste Dump Hotline number, which is for reporting “illegal dumping of waste into waterways or sewers or complaints of water pollution“, is (800) 332-3867 or (800) 332-DUMP. The contact info for the MWRD commissioners is below.
- Kathleen Therese Meany, President Board of Commissioners, (312) 751-5646, Kathleen.Meany@mwrd.org
- Barbara J. McGowan, Vice President, (312) 751-5640, Barbara.McGowan@mwrd.org
- Mariyana T. Spyropoulos, Chairman of Finance, (312) 751-5650, Mariyana.Spyropoulos@mwrd.org
- Michael A. Alvarez, Commissioner, (312) 751-5665, Michael.Alvarez@mwrd.org
- Frank Avila, Commissioner, (312) 751-5620, Frank.Avila@mwrd.org
- Cynthia M. Santos, Commissioner, (312) 751-5685, Cynthia.Santos@mwrd.org
- Debra Shore, Commissioner, (312) 751-5690, Debra.Shore@mwrd.org
- Kari K. Steele, Commissioner, (312) 751-5694, Kari.Steele@mwrd.org
- Patrick D. Thompson, Commissioner, (312) 751-5670, Patrick.Thompson@mwrd.org
Friends of West Edgewater Park 