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Last year, Illinois received just $106 million of the $15
billion earmarked for lead removal in President Joe Biden’s
infrastructure bill.
A group of 50 members of Congress, including several from
Illinois, sent a letter to EPA officials urging them to update
the 2015 formula they use to allocate lead removal money.
Specifically, they want the $15 billion allocated in relation to
how many lead lines in each state.
According to EPA officials, Illinois has the most lead service
lines in the country, estimated at over 700,000.
During a Lead Line Removal and Water Equity hearing with several
Great Lakes mayors, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss says without
federal money for lead service replacement projects, local water
bills will skyrocket.
“An undertaking that we expect to cost over $168 million in 2021
dollars, and without additional outside funding, this would
result in an increase of over 70% to their retail water rate,”
Biss said.
The Mayor's Commission on Water Equity said they will play a
crucial role in determining whether federal investments in water
infrastructure via the Infrastructure investment and Jobs Act
engender results on the ground, including in disadvantaged
communities that they say have struggled to access federal
dollars.
“It is our responsibility as leaders of cities, state and
federal agencies to ensure these historic investments are
distributed equitably,” Zion Mayor Billy McKinney said.
In 2021, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law the Lead Service
Line Replacement and Notification Act, making Illinois the third
state in the nation to require full replacement of lead drinking
water pipes.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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