The flooding in the Chicago Loop could have been avoided if someone would have listened to the workers who warned of a small leak.

The leak turned out to be bigger than anyone thought it could be and billions of dollars went down the drain.

The sad part is the whole thing could have been avoided and although Chicago Mayor Richard Daley rightly said action will be taken against the people who ignored the warnings, the damage has been done.

It will cost the city billions to repay private businesses that lost property. There is no measure for the business that was lost. The Chicago Board of Trade was not able to open and, therefore, business markets around the world suffered.

Public officials panicked under stress, and Mayor Daley was no exception. His behavior though, was downright childish at times, especially when he responded angrily to inquiries about who was to blame for the incident. Daley’s attention should have been focused on plugging the leak, not running off at the mouth.

His poor attitude aside, the situation was handled quite impressively. In ten hours, the situation was resolved and Chicago was safe. It’s almost ironic to see other city problems, such as potholes, take years before they’re fixed.

When all is completely resolved in this dilemma, the time should come for an investigation into this matter. Too many people walked home wet for this to go unnoticed.