Few Chicagoans – Less than 1% of Cook County homeowners and residents carry flood insurance, while many major insurers do not automatically cover sewer-backup basement flooding under standard homeowner’s policies. As intense storms become more frequent, Chicago-area residents
Good morning, Chicago. The question sweeping through neighborhoods isn’t abstract—it’s tied to basements, bills, and the sudden realization that “home” doesn’t always come with protection.
Larry Quinn Jr.. believed his homeowners insurance would cover what happened when more than 5 feet of water flooded his Austin basement in 2023.. For many Chicago-area homeowners and renters. that kind of mismatch—between what people expect insurance to do and what policies actually cover—is at the center of a growing concern as storms intensify.
Flood risk is widespread.. Almost every community across the Chicago area is at risk of flooding. and the outlook is for more powerful storms and heavier rainfall in the decades ahead.. Weather conditions are shifting. and streets and sewers across Chicago and the Cook County suburbs are not built to handle so much rain at once.. Water that doesn’t drain fast enough ends up inside homes.
Yet flood insurance remains rare. Less than 1% of Cook County homeowners and residents have flood insurance, even as the question grows more urgent: if basements fill, are those losses covered by existing homeowner policies?
The answer, for many people, is likely no.. Many homeowners are finding they don’t have the right insurance to cover losses from water in their homes.. Major insurers such as State Farm and Allstate. the story notes. will not automatically cover sewer-backup basement flooding as part of a standard homeowner’s plan.
That tension plays out across other parts of Chicago life this week—where delays, legal disputes, and public services that fall short can leave residents waiting far longer than they expected.
A federal complaint filed by Faith Hernandez targets the Chicago Housing Authority after months of inaction. and it centers on her effort to get away from her abuser.. The dispute comes with an added layer of urgency because Chicago Housing Authority residents can wait years to move into another unit after filing relocation requests involving safety concerns.
Records cited in the filing show some residents have waited seven years, while others have died waiting. Nearly 400 households are on waitlists to move, with about 150 requests labeled an “emergency.” Another 241 transfer requests are meant to accommodate disabilities.
The reasons for emergency transfers include infestation, mold and fire. Records also show 103 transfer requests cite the Violence Against Women Act.
The backdrop includes a February whistleblower complaint by a CHA employee accusing the agency of failing to follow its reasonable accommodations process for residents with disabilities.. Meanwhile, about 3,978 apartments out of the CHA’s roughly 21,400 public housing units—18%—stand vacant, mostly because they are uninhabitable.
The flood-insurance story and the housing dispute sit side by side in a way that’s hard to ignore: in both. people face a gap between what they assume will protect them and what systems end up providing.. In Cook County. it’s a coverage mismatch tied to how water enters homes; in CHA cases. it’s a housing delay measured in years—along with categories of requests. including those labeled “emergency.”
Beyond housing and insurance, Chicago also marked cultural and community moments.. Sam Sianis, the longtime owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, died Friday from natural causes at age 91.. He opened the tavern on Lower Michigan Avenue in 1964. three decades after his uncle. William “Billy Goat” Sianis. opened its predecessor on West Madison Street.
The subterranean location near the former offices of the Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune was a favorite watering spot for reporters and columnists.. After immigrating from Greece, Sam Sianis moved to San Francisco, then to Chicago to work at his uncle’s tavern.. He later owned several locations of the Billy Goat and was immortalized in a classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch.
His son, Bill Sianis, said: “My dad was always a person who lit up the room when he walked in, always in a good mood,” adding that Bill and his brother Paul have operated the tavern since their father mostly retired about a decade ago.
Sports filled out the day’s roundup. In the Crosstown Classic, the White Sox beat the Cubs on Sunday, 9-8, claiming the series, while the Sky defeated the Lynx, 86-79.
The game also came with memorable swings and minor sparks: Edgar Quero hit a walkoff home run Sunday, and Tristan Peters joined the Cubs with two notable home runs. Fans heckled Pete Crow-Armstrong after the Cub missed a catch Sunday, and he responded.
There was also an injury update. Umpire Brian O’Nora—who has been umpiring in the major leagues since 1992—will be out indefinitely after he was struck in the left side of the jaw by a foul ball during Saturday’s game.
Chicago’s public safety and courtrooms were active as well.. Tatiana Maxwell has been charged with fatally stabbing her infant daughter in Gage Park before allegedly jumping from a second-story window and injuring herself Friday. police said.. In another case. Ammar Houssamo faces murder and gun charges in connection with a fatal Edgewater shooting Thursday. with police saying he allegedly shot a man walking his dog before turning the gun on himself.
On the economic and civic front, a judge ordered the Ford City Mall to close June 22, affecting about two dozen retailers, including the last anchor tenant, JCPenney. The order followed city complaints that the property’s poor condition posed an “imminent danger.”
And in education, Chicago Public Schools received a $1.7 million grant from Lollapalooza to expand art education programming over the next five years.
If you need a bright counterpoint amid the week’s hard questions, a separate community event offered a vision of what comes next. More than 360 Chicagoans from the West and South sides ran three miles Saturday along 103rd Street during the inaugural 103rd Street 5K Peace Walk/Run.
Runners gathered at Corliss Early College STEM High School in Pullman and ended at Percy L.. Julian High School, where a vendor fair and community conversation focused on transforming vacant lots into businesses and community centers.. In April. the Chicago Transit Authority broke ground on the Red Line Extension Project. which includes a station planned for 103rd Street. and community organizations are working to revitalize the corridor from Cottage Grove Avenue to Vincennes Avenue in anticipation of increased traffic and investment.
Jackie Hoffman, founder of Peace Runners 773, said: “As we keep uniting throughout the city, we create these really big movements that reclaim our spaces, and get the things that we need for our communities.”
For now, the day’s themes—protection that may not arrive when people expect it, and long waits when help doesn’t come—remain the clearest signals of what’s at stake in Chicago.
Chicago flood insurance Cook County sewer backup Chicago Housing Authority Faith Hernandez waiting lists Violence Against Women Act Sam Sianis Billy Goat Tavern