ChicagoClout

Huge Pothole Near School Not Fixed In 3 Years Reporting Mai Martinez CHICAGO (CBS) ― Click to enlarge1 of 1 Parents and school officials at Edward Coles Elementary School say this gaping pothole in front of the school has not been fixed for almost three years. CBS You've heard about the city's pothole problems, but parents and school officials at one elementary school say they've been dealing with a gaping hole in front of their school for almost three years. As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, they are fed up and they want the pothole fixed now. As parents arrived at Edward Coles Elementary School to pick up their kids, many of them had to maneuver around a large hole in the street. After dealing with it for three years, many of them are used it. "This thing's been here for years. It should have been taken care of as soon as it happened," said Roger King who was picking up his 5-year-old son, Malcolm. Another parent, Deidre Turner, says she can't believe something hasn't been done to fix the problem. "It's dangerous. It's dangerous for the kids and also for the people that's driving up," Turner said. "It's been here for a long time, and I think it should've been fixed by now." Turner said she fears her children might fall into the hole and hurt themselves. Edward Coles Elementary School officials are equally frustrated with the lack of action taken to fix the hole. Assistant Principal El-Roy Estes says they've called 311 every year for the past three years, and the hole still hasn't been fixed. After a visit from Alderman Sandi Jackson, Estes thought the problem would be addressed. "She said she would take care of it. They came and partially did some work, and the other part just sunk right back in," said Estes. Estes says luckily, no students have fallen into the hole, but cars and parents haven't been so lucky. Estes says one time, a mother picking up her child didn't see the cone marking the hole, and drove right into it. "The cone was inside the hole. That's how deep the hole is, and some men, we had to help pick up the truck and get it out of the hole," said Estes. Leon Alexander has three children at the school, and he says he almost fell into the hole one day. He and other parents say they can't understand why the city would leave their children at risk by not at least covering the hole properly until it could be repaired. "We're sure that they're going to address it if somebody fall in it, oh, they'll get here the same day," said Alexander. "But why should we have to do that? Why should any of our children be hurt just to get this problem fixed?" A spokesperson for Chicago's Department of Water Management says the hole is "catch basin cave-in," and it will be repaired as quickly as possible because it is near a school. He also says an inspector was sent out to the site, and it is now barricaded off. The spokesperson also says his department only received one call about the hole, and he says it came on October 2, 2009.