Ald. Gilbert Villegas on Chicagoans getting hosed with bogus water bills: 'Government shouldn't be here to hurt people'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Finally, there appears to be an appetite at City Hall to fix Chicago's bad water billing situation.
Numerous people whose stories we've reported over the past four years have been getting hosed by bogus bills - often rising into the tens of thousands of dollars.
A City Council committee met on Monday to address the issue – in the first step in fixing the problem.
CBS News Chicago Streaming Anchor Brad Edwards spoke with an alderman who has promising to make it happen.
"I'll give you a big shout-out as well, Brad, in that you have been on this topic, and it's because of your reporting that I was made aware of the issues that residents are facing," said Ald. Gilbert Villegas (38th). "The City Council has taken action, and we appropriated money to upgrade our IT. We're in the process of an eight-year phase-in, and it's approximately $350 (million) to half a billion dollars.
"Again, it's your reporting that has really prompted the City Council to take action," Villegas continued, "and so we're moving in the direction to try to right this wrong – so that way, residents can get clean water, but also make sure they're not getting gouged."
During the recent mayoral campaign, both Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson and challenger Paul Vallas referred to the Chicago Department of Water Management as incompetent. Edwards asked Villegas if he would agree with that characterization.
"Yesterday, someone testified at City Council that they would have had to have run their water for 27 hours a day – 27 hours a day – in order to get that bill," Villegas said, "and so I think having our Water Department and our Finance Department take a look and take a deep dive into these bills to make sure that people aren't getting hosed, and people aren't being taken advantage of."
In 2021, Edwards introduced us to Beatrice Ritchie and her son-in-law Russell Cochran. Their water bill: nearly $60,000 for water they never used.
On Monday, Cochran testified before a City Council committee.
"The Water Department's plumber concluded that the meter was defective," he said. "The meter was replaced. The only resolution the Finance Department offered was to put Beatrice, a 93-year-old woman, on a payment plan. I need to make you aware that the Water Department has a pattern of making mistakes."
After the hearing, and four years of Getting Hosed reports on CBS 2, when does Villegas think something will get done?
"I think what you're going to see is that this upcoming City Council, we're going to get very aggressive on it. Unfortunately, this issue has been brought up, as you mentioned, over the last four years. I've taken steps to try to solve this issue," Villegas said. "But unfortunately, listen – as an alderman, sometimes I get bogged down in the bureaucracy, and everyone's pointing their fingers at one another – and so the only advantage is that I have an easier path to getting to these commissioners. But it's like righting a ship with some of this bureaucracy that takes place.
"You've exposed some of the bills, and some of the folks that have been impacted, and I can't even imagine the stress that these folks are when the government – city government – is telling them, 'No, you owe tens of thousands of dollars," Villegas continued. "Government shouldn't be here to hurt people. It should be here to help people. And I'm going to make sure to right this wrong and help people in the city of Chicago."
Edwards' full discussion with Villegas can be seen in the video above.
Meanwhile, we are staying on the water bill issue until it gets fixed. On the CBS 2 News at 6, we will revisit one of the most egregious cases we've covered.