Water rates have more than doubled since 2010. Low-income residents feel the pinch most of all.
On Sunday Chicagoans will face another spike in their water bills after seeing rates more than double over the past 15 years.
The latest increase—4 percent—comes as environmental justice groups are fighting for more water-affordability protections.
“Water is just as important as energy,” said Iyana Simba, city government affairs director at the Illinois Environmental Council. “If we don’t have water, we don’t have life. So for us, we want to draw attention to the things that are affecting our water.”
Water advocates gathered on Chicago’s South Side last week to offer solutions to the affordability crisis in the first of a series of “Water Matters” town hall events. Hosted by the Illinois Environmental Council, Water Matters is a convening space for water experts to provide assistance to Illinois homeowners and renters struggling with water bills as well as to push for action by lawmakers.
At the Water Matters town hall, Ciciora urged participants to sign a petition asking Mayor Brandon Johnson to call for a vote on a Water for All ordinance. Ciciora said the mayor’s office has not been supportive, citing concerns about cost and equity.
The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the matter.
“We did not get a clear answer as to why [Water for All] was inequitable, because this mostly applies to South and West Side neighborhoods, which we know are majority Black and brown, and we cannot get more equitable than providing relief to low-income Chicagoans that are in those neighborhoods,” Ciciora said.
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