(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Two dozen Woodridge families that were displaced by a powerful tornado in 2021 hope that this is the year they finally return home.
Woodridge Country Club is a condo complex on Woodward Avenue near 75th Street in the western suburb.
When an EF-3 tornado tore through the community late in the evening of June 20, 2021, Building 5 of the condo complex was severely damaged.
Issues with contractors and insurance coverage delayed repairs on the building, and residents have been living elsewhere since then.
Bill Buchholz, president of the Building 5 Condo Association, said a GoFundMe has been set up to raise $1 million to cover the cost of repairs.
Those costs would have been passed along to condo owners, and he said he didn't want a natural disaster to turn into a financial disaster for homeowners.
He hopes to be back in his home later this year.
“Indescribable how much pain and suffering people have gone through, and stress, but knowing it will be such a blessing to be back in later this year,” Buchholz said.
Despite the hardship, Buchholz said neighbors are lucky to have escaped the storm without injury.
“It's an incredible feeling that everyone was so grateful,” he said. “No one was injured. Everyone got out within seconds before the roof collapsed. It's a miracle.”
A link to the GoFundMe can be found here.
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram