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Water tower demolition leaves Waukegan homes covered in dust: 'Everything is ruined'

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Published  December 4, 2024 4:56pm CST
Waukegan
FOX 32 Chicago

Water tower demolition leaves Waukegan homes covered in dust

An old concrete water tower that's been unused for over 50 years is being torn down, and that is causing some distress among Waukegan residents.

The Brief

    • Residents of north suburban Waukegan are frustrated over excessive concrete dust from the demolition of an old water tower, affecting their homes and health.
    • Despite the demolition company spraying water to reduce dust, residents argue it’s ineffective, and they feel the city hasn’t adequately addressed their concerns.
    • At a city council meeting, officials confirmed the project will finish soon, but residents worry about long-term consequences and feel their community, mostly Hispanic and working-class, is being ignored.

WAUKEGAN, Ill. - There’s a big dust up among residents of north suburban Waukegan—over too much dust.

For the past month, the City of Waukegan has been demolishing an old concrete water tower, but nearby residents want the demolition halted, saying it’s disrupting their neighborhood and affecting their health.

"My house is full of dust. My driveway is full of dust. Roof is full of dust. Everything is ruined. Who’s gonna pay for all this?" said Felipe Rea, who lives about a half block from the demolition project.

Residents said it was like a volcano erupted in their quiet neighborhood. Concrete dust coats mailboxes, roofs, sidewalks, driveways, and cars. 

"This is not something you can just take to the car wash," said Samantha Marvan, as she wiped a thick coating of powder off her car. "Some of this is like dry cement."

Since Halloween, demolition crews have been slowly grinding down an 85-foot-tall concrete water tower formerly used by the City of Waukegan.

After complaints about the dust, the demolition company started spraying water to ease the problem, but residents said it’s not effective.

"We got daycares here. A school right back here – Washington Elementary," said community activist Miguel Rivera. "We have a lady right here that’s on an oxygen tank and this is getting all of the community around here."

"This is our neighborhood," said Rose Sajuan. "And we should have been notified. We didn’t get a thing. They said they sent letters out. Yeah, right."

At Monday’s Waukegan City Council meeting, city officials and a representative from the demolition company said they’re doing everything they can to address resident’s complaints. Waukegan Mayor Ann B. Taylor expressed approval. 

"I want to reiterate that you guys are doing a phenomenal job, listening to us and responding," Taylor said. "Unfortunately, like everything, construction is construction. And the sooner we get it done with, the better we’ll all be."

But residents of this mostly Hispanic, blue-collar neighborhood feel ignored, expressing doubt they would face this issue in a more affluent area.

At the city council meeting, the demolition company said they should be finished with the project in just a few more days. However, residents are worried they’ll be dealing with the aftermath for years.