CAHOKIA HEIGHTS, Ill — Cahokia Heights residents are asking a judge for help.
Environmental attorneys representing a group of Cahokia Heights residents want the judge to rule that the community's troubled sewer system is violating federal law.
Attorneys from Earthjustice filed a motion for summary judgement last week. They are asking for the court to rule the sewer system violates the Clean Water Act.
According to Earthjustice Managing Attorney Courtney Bowie, this would eliminate the need for a jury for some of the resources and repairs they are asking for in the lawsuit, prompting quicker solutions for residents.
The act protects waterways across the country. According to one of the two lawsuits filed on behalf of residents, there are 91 documentations of the North 82nd Street pipe discharging waters.
As it stands now, Cahokia Heights residents are nervous every time it rains.
"I think about moving all the time, all the time," resident Darvontae Washington said.
The sights and smells after it rains are part of Washington's everyday life, he said.
"When it rains, some streets flood where you can't even go down the street at all," he said.
He's lived through the broken sewage and drainage system of Cahokia Heights for months.
"You go to work not knowing you smell like the neighborhood, but you smell like the neighborhood," he said.
Residents said they have had enough, which is why they are asking for help from Earthjustice attorneys.
"It's a lot of working people here now, so we'd like to see the neighborhood look a lot better ... smell a lot better ... for us," Washington said.
This issue has been a local and state conversation for years. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) announced a $10 million dollar sewer overhaul plan last August. He said the reason for the plan hasn't progressed quicker comes down to local officials.
"The challenge has been that there is paperwork that still hasn't been submitted, we're trying to help local officials to get that in order," he said of the plan in a news conference in February. But local officials like State Representative Kevin Schmidt (R-Millstadt) said the governor is moving too slow.
"The lawsuit is a smart move ... it would be great if the governor would deliver the funds ... then they wouldn't need the lawsuit in the first place," he said.
Washington said his days in the neighborhood are numbered because he wants to move. But he's still hopeful, that the future of Cahokia Heights, is clean.
"I'd like to see that for them. Even though I'm not going to be here that long, I'd like to see it for them," he said.
Bowie said the City of Cahokia Heights has until early next month to respond.
5 On Your Side reached out to the city for comment but did not hear back.
The trial for the rest of the lawsuit is set for October 2024.
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