Fox River flooding concerns linger days after heavy storms

Flooding along the Fox River in Illinois has remained a concern for several days as the river has continued to swell following heavy rains last week.

Water has surrounded many homes in the Chain O'Lakes area along the Fox River in the northern suburbs.

In nearby Antioch, first responders have been on high alert for days.

Flooding along the river is so serious, some homes are being evacuated.

Several streets have been left impassable with water deep enough to cover car bumpers and get inside people's homes.

The Fox River near Antioch is running so high, it has reached the level of a major flood. It's less than a foot from the record set in 2017.

Lake Marie has swelled so much, it has extended the shoreline near one marina by about 50 feet and flooded a nearby road.

Water has poured into backyards, basements, and crawl spaces. In some cases, entire homes are surrounded by water.

Some neighborhood streets are closed because the river is now flowing over them.

Living beside the Fox River can be a love-hate relationship.

"I like the river and everything like that, but I don't like the river when it's in my front yard," said Antioch resident Damien Lawrence. "Everybody loves it, but then when this happens, it's like, ugh."

Lawrence said he could see the current of the Fox River swirling in his driveway on Sunday. Surrounded by water, he had to build a bridge to his truck.

"Started it off with just, you know, a tire and a couple pieces of wood and then my ladder, and then as the water kept getting higher and higher, I had to get out my milk crates," he said.

There's almost three feet of water in Lawrence's crawl space.

"The septic tanks are under water and all that stuff, so this is nasty water," he said.

Conditions like this are easy to hate, but Lawrence takes the good with the bad, whether his home is beside or in the river.

"No matter how upset I get, it's not going to make the water go away any faster," he said.

Regardless, he's getting by better than some of his neighbors.

Over the weekend, the Antioch Fire Department got a call to help a couple evacuate their home. Firefighters couldn't access the property by boat, so crews waded into the water to get to the house.

"We decided to put on our exposure suits and walk in with an ambulance stair chair that we use to bring patients up and down stairs," Antioch Fire Department Deputy Chief Jim Cook said.

The Fox River has already crested north of Antioch in New Munster, Wisconsin, but water levels in Antioch continued to rise throughout the day on Monday.

People who live along the river in northern Illinois hope the water will soon start to recede.