Recent sink hole draws attention to Illinois' mining history

A mine collapse may have played a factor in a sink hole in a park in Alton this summer. It created a massive hole in a soccer field and grabbed the headlines.

The U.S. Geological Survey says there have been more than 7,400 coal mines in Illinois since the early 1800s. Nearly all mines are no longer in operation, but they can still cause the ground above them to sink.

The larger mines are in southern Illinois. Still, there is a chance old mines can collapse under houses and infrastructure in northern Illinois.

Mike Phillips is a geology professor at Illinois Valley Community College. He says there’s a long history of mining in Illinois.

“The older mines were probably a little bit less careful about where they mine and what they did afterwards,” said Phillips. “And so a lot of the mine subsidence that people have problems with are associated with those older mines. And just because a lot of time has passed doesn’t mean that the that the risk is gone.”

Phillips also says residents will have time to evacuate if their home starts to sink.

“But now, the one thing that we do have kind of going for us is it tends not to happen overnight. It’s happening over the course of of a few days. And so it does give people time to at least get out. I haven’t heard of anybody getting physically injured in Illinois by mine subsidence, just because it’s more of a slow motion thing.”

In Illinois, companies have to offer mine subsidence insurance. If you can prove that your home is not near a mine, you are exempt.

Check out the mine map.