Coal City residents are still rebuilding and cleaning up one month after powerful storms and tornadoes ripped through the small village about an hour south of Chicago.
Glenn Root says the tarps on his roof aren’t enough to keep the damage at bay.
“You know a little hole coming through the top of the ceiling roof is just expanding and expanding every time it rains,” Root said. “And we got so much rain the last three weeks that it’s just messing up my kitchen walls more.”
Ed Essary lost the house he lived in for 39 years.
“I still wake up at 3:00 in the morning,” Essary said. “I go to bed at 10:00 and wake up at 3:00. My mind is running so fast. I can’t get back to sleep. It’s just the way it is right now. I don’t know what to do next. There’s so much to do. Even now there’s so much to do.”
Essary says he’ll stay in Coal City and build a new home on his property.
More than 800 structures were damaged by the severe weather. Officials say they’re working with the state to get more money for relief efforts.