Three years later, lives still upended by tornado that tore through Woodridge

Three years have passed since a late-night tornado left her Woodridge townhouse community in shambles.

Yet Maria Rivas still feels in limbo.

“I still don’t know when I’m going to be back home,” Rivas, 67, said.

The nocturnal tornado touched down in Naperville and churned east through Woodridge. Hard-hit neighborhoods had to fight through a quagmire of insurance battles and supply chain issues. Homes torn apart by the tornado — the strongest twister to strike the Chicago metro counties since 2015 — were rebuilt and repaired. Many areas now look close to normal.

But to this day, some survivors remain displaced. The residents of the Woodridge Country Club Association No. 5 complex will be responsible for paying an almost $1 million insurance coverage gap as part of their homeowners association’s future assessments, village officials say.

“If you can imagine how hard it must be for them, they are still paying their mortgage because the bank doesn’t say your mortgage goes away,” said Dianne O’Donnell, who helped organize a Woodridge tornado relief group. “They’re still responsible for their homeowners association fees. And then on top of that, they’ve had to come up with alternative living arrangements.”

Mayor Gina Cunningham, O’Donnell and other Woodridge residents will take part in a fundraiser Wednesday to support those still trying to recover.

“It is really the hope and the prayer that we are able to raise the money to help them make up this gap because this is no fault of anyone’s,” Cunningham said. “It’s just something that happened, and it’s devastating.”

Rivas is currently staying in a hotel in Darien and living “out of a suitcase basically.”

“It’s not only a physical strain,” Rivas said. “It’s not only an emotional strain, but it’s also a financial strain.”

The damage

At its strongest, the tornado’s winds peaked at around 140 mph, garnering an EF-3 rating on the zero-to-5 Enhanced Fujita scale. A house collapsed in Naperville. In the neighboring village, homes between Woodridge Drive and Basswood Lane took the brunt of the tornado’s wrath on June 20, 2021.

“The roof had literally folded itself over to the other neighbor’s unit,” said Bill Buchholz, 39, who with his wife, Melissa, escaped injury from their Woodridge Country Club townhouse. About two minutes later, a “torrential downpour” flooded the place.

Out of the 24 families initially displaced, five have received their occupancy permits, according to the property management company for the Woodward Avenue complex. However, 19 families are still awaiting the completion of essential repairs.

“The delays stem from a combination of issues. Negotiations with insurance companies have taken longer than expected, particularly regarding coverage for necessary building upgrades,” a MC Property Management statement read in part. “Additionally, material shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the timeline for repairs. Both the condo board and management are working tirelessly to expedite the restoration.”

To help bridge the funding gap not covered by insurance and minimize the need for a special assessment to repair the common areas, a GoFundMe page has been established.

“With supply chain issues and with everything going two to three times higher than it was three years ago, we surpassed that (insurance) policy limit by $1 million,” said Buchholz, the association’s president.

On a recent weekend, the lights in his unit went on for the first time in three years.

“I was in the same position with them, with these homeowners that were also out of their homes,” said Buchholz, who moved in with his parents.

The recovery process

The tornado caused a tree to fall on the roof of Joe Tancredi’s ranch. A limb impaled the side of his house. One of the four walls had to be torn down and rebuilt.

“The insurance that we had put us up in a rental house that they paid for, but only for a certain number of months, and that expired long before the construction on the house was completed,” Tancredi said.

About 11 months after the tornado, the Tancredi family returned to their home near St. Scholastica.

“When we were repairing the house, in the master bedroom, we built a reinforced area out of a closet space that could hold everybody safely ... so that we would have a better option of a safe place to go if another tornado came,” the father of three said.

“I also hope we never have to use it.”

Woodridge residents themselves have been the backbone of the long-term tornado response. Volunteers formed a nonprofit organization, Woodridge Neighbors Helping Neighbors Disaster Recovery, with a board of directors — O’Donnell and Glenn Mazade are the co-chairs — and a case management team. They provide food and other financial assistance.

“This particular group of neighbors is just exhausted emotionally, financially and some of them even spiritually, and they need help, and we can't forget them,” O’Donnell said of the townhouse residents. “We can’t let them be forgotten.”

Rivas remembers what sounded like a train and the “water gushing from everywhere” the night of the tornado. Since then, it’s been “like a fog.” Rivas had a stable place to stay for about two years. After that, she bounced between family and friends.

Rivas calls “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” her lifeline.

“I’m in their prayers, and they care about my well-being and my getting home soon.”

How to help

What: Woodridge Neighbors Helping Neighbors Disaster Recovery (WNHNDR) is supporting displaced residents through a “Doin’ Good BBQ” and “Friendraiser.”

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 26

Where: Seven Bridges Golf Club, located at 1 Mulligan Drive, Woodridge

Details: The CoverGirls, a quintet of electric violinists who have shared the stage with the band Chicago, will perform. The event also includes a cash bar, ice cream and toppings bar and live auctions. Retired Police Chief Brian Cunningham will serve as master of ceremonies.

Tickets: $75 per person

Info: woodridgenhn.org