Chicago woman billed $233,000 for water she never used in vacant home with no plumbing
A senior citizen's vacant home in the Back of the Yards neighborhood racked up a staggering $233,000 water bill, despite not having any plumbing for years.
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A senior citizen's vacant home in the Back of the Yards neighborhood racked up a staggering $233,000 water bill, despite not having any plumbing for years.
Eligible homeowners and business owners would be able to have their water bills lowered if they can prove their higher bill is the result of leak in the underground service line.
David Steele got the $5,000 refund he'd been wanting for months, but didn't get an explanation why the city suddenly changed its mind.
Glenn Jones can't sell the vacant house until he figures out the water bill issue with the city.
Through our "Getting Hosed" series on bad water bills, we have found that often communication issues between different city systems have often been the source of the headaches.
Even after David Steele won the first round in his dispute over his bogus water bill, the city figured out a way to hose him again.
The Chicago City Council Finance Committee held a hearing Tuesday with the heads of the Water Management and Finance departments.
A week-by-week log of meter readings showed zero water usage on some entries. Other times, the report came back at 6 million gallons used in a week.
The family knew they had unpaid water charges to settle before selling their three-flat in Roseland, but nothing like the amount they got.
The circumstances vary from case to case, of course, but in short, the pattern involves Chicagoans getting socked with bills for water they didn't use.
"You've got people walking around on fixed income and they can't afford to pay a $500 bill," Burns said. "I would like to see mistakes corrected and I would like to see communication. There's no communication!"
"It's just nuts to me that we have this issue that continues to be reported, on and the city departments are not doing anything about it," Villegas said.
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.
This did not happen until the CBS 2 Investigators got involved.
Connie Abels has been waiting five years for her hearing.
The homeowner was just being an honest guy and alerted the Chicago Department of Water Management to his unusually low bill.
"The issue with being a city employee is we are obligated to pay any city obligation," said paramedic Lisa Beard.
In Chicago when you die, ComEd shuts off your electricity, and Peoples Gas shuts off your gas. But the city does not stop your water.
Illinois' lead pipe situation is the worst in the country.
Yasser Almanaseer said he has had no luck in getting it fixed.
How does a City of Chicago water bill for $70 turn into a $10,000 tab from one bill to the next?
Getting Hosed, our exposé on Chicago's bad water billing, has saved consumers hundreds of thousands of dollars. So we wanted to know - what happens if you take on the City yourself?
"They told me to hire a good lawyer, that this is probably a billing issue with the city."
Aldermen voted against Ald. Daniel La Spata's proposal for helping low-income residents with water bills, while a competing proposal from Mayor Lori Lightfoot remains bottled up in a separate committee.
Hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans with unmetered accounts pay inflated bills – and you can't get a meter for a fair bill until you get a non-lead service line.
At Federal Plaza, demonstrators expressed concern following the military operation in Iran that killed the country's supreme leader and the impact it may have going forward.
While some people are protesting the attack on Iran, other Chicagoans are celebrating it.
The win extended Chicago's unbeaten streak against Canadian opponents to six matches dating to 2024.
Chicago police said two men were arguing when one of them pulled out a sharp object and stabbed the victim in the arm and side.
Connor Bedard scored for Chicago, which has lost eight of nine and continues to struggle to score.
President Trump posted on social media that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed after a massive U.S. and Israeli military operation Saturday.
Americans weighed in on how long a conflict with Iran might last and what Congress should do.
Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham said the operation would be "violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful."
President Trump says his objective in attacking Iran "is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats" from the regime in Tehran. Read his full statement and watch the video here.
President Trump said that "heavy and pinpoint bombing" of Iran would "continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary."
Palatine, Illinois-based Weber has issued a recall of more than 3.2 million metal wire bristle grill brushes because you could ingest the bristles.
This is after Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed an ordinance that would have banned most hemp-derived products this weekend.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
Not one, but two hotels are now planned or proposed for Chicago's Northalsted LGBTQ+ nightlife district.
After the Double Door closed in Wicker Park, there was reassurance that the Double Door would return, at a new location in the city's Uptown neighborhood. Now that is not happening anymore.
Barnes & Noble was set to reopen in Skokie on Wednesday, just weeks after it closed.
Trader Joe's is opening a new location in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood.
The district laid out a $630 million plan to remake Soldier Field into a major concert venue and events space.
Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka, known for his hits like "Laughter in the Rain," "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" and "Calendar Girl," has died.
A 19th-century George Méliès film, thought to be long lost, has been found among a box of brittle movie reels that a Michigan donor brought to the Library of Congress, officials said.
Streaming giant Netflix declined to match Paramount Skydance's $31 per share offer for Warner Bros. Discovery.
After the Double Door closed in Wicker Park, there was reassurance that the Double Door would return, at a new location in the city's Uptown neighborhood. Now that is not happening anymore.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2026 list of nominees, including Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, Wu-Tang Clan and more.
Scouts from the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana gathered here at the DePaul College of Law. The girls spent the day exploring the legal profession while being mentored by accomplished women lawyers and judges.
Police say the 36-year-old man was missing for six days before he was found in quicksand-like muck at a sand plant.
The shipment arrived from the United Arab Emirates and was headed to Florida. An X-ray revealed the sword-like objects, and an archaeologist later confirmed that the artifacts are antiquities.
The actor said Jackson Sr. inspired him as a young man.
Staying breezy for these next 36 hours across Chicagoland so lake-effect snow and flurries remain in the forecast tonight and Sunday.
President Trump said that "heavy and pinpoint bombing" of Iran would "continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary."
At Federal Plaza, demonstrators expressed concern following the military operation in Iran that killed the country's supreme leader and the impact it may have going forward.
Chicago police said two men were arguing when one of them pulled out a sharp object and stabbed the victim in the arm and side.
While some people are protesting the attack on Iran, other Chicagoans are celebrating it.
Police said three men were shot, one killed, in the basement of a Northwest Side home Saturday afternoon.
If you feel like you're drowning in a sea of text alerts and desperate email pleas for "just $5" this election season, you are far from alone.
A north suburban school bus driver became a victim of sophisticated scammers who are targeting more people and more vulnerable populations to make more money.
Both couples are still actively fighting for their kids, knowing it will be a long and complicated road.
The mother of an 8-year-old boy who was allegedly put in a chokehold and dragged by the neck by a Chicago Public Schools employee hopes her lawsuit and choice to speak out will help protect students in the future.
A jury on Wednesday awarded $5.74 million in damages to a Chicago family who accused police of violating their civil rights in a botched raid of their home in 2018.
The win extended Chicago's unbeaten streak against Canadian opponents to six matches dating to 2024.
Connor Bedard scored for Chicago, which has lost eight of nine and continues to struggle to score.
Morez Johnson Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds against his former team as No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 10 Illinois 84-70 and clinched Big Ten regular-season title.
It's already been a historic season for the University of Chicago men's basketball team, and they still have one big goal out in front of them.
Ryan O'Reilly scored with 3:16 remaining and the Nashville Predators scored three times in the third period in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the teams' first game following the Olympic break.
A judge has sentenced a Wisconsin man who forged threats against President Donald Trump as part of a deportation scheme to 16½ years in prison.
A man has been charged with shooting and killing a father and son following a jewelry store robbery last November in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.
Two men are charged with filing a false police report, claiming they were robbed of millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
Chicago police issued an alert Thursday about a rash of criminal sexual assaults that have happened on one block on Chicago's West Side, committed by a man who lures his victims by setting up dates through an escort app.
Chicago police issued a community alert Thursday about a string of smash-and-grab burglaries targeting businesses on the city's North and Northwest sides.
