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.
Police said the officers, in a marked squad car, hit a median while in traffic.
The unit recovered more than 25,000 pounds of stolen protein powder from the Bridgeview warehouse last Tuesday.
The Chicago Board of Education on Monday voted to increase its property tax levy for next year to generate $25 million in new revenue for the Chicago Public Schools.
As thousands of people are expected downtown for New Year's Eve celebrations, Mayor Johnson, the Chicago police, and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications are trying to get out ahead of any safety concerns.
A new law will begin targeting rogue tow truck companies in Illinois, starting Jan. 1, 2026, seeking to stop tow companies from rebranding under a new name if they're proven to have predatory practices.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also announced President Trump will receive the Israel Prize for his work on peace negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lauded "strong security guarantees" from the U.S. after Sunday's meeting with President Trump in Florida.
The Veterans Affairs Department is reimposing a near total ban on abortions for veterans and their families that was modified in 2022.
Strikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria come after President Trump spent weeks accusing the West African country's government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.
The message, aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day, reflected on the impact of President Trump's second term in office thus far.
A new report shines a light on electricity shortages that Illinois could face in less than 10 years.
With less than two weeks until Christmas, if you're sending gifts to people far from home, the deadlines to get them there on time are fast approaching.
A condo owner in Country Club Hills says he's forced to sell his home after his condo association failed to reimburse him for repairs to his leaking roof. Edward Hadnott's condo has sat empty since a major roof leak in 2022.
The U.S. stopped minting pennies this week, and some groups have issued a warning about the headaches that can create for some businesses and consumers.
Why is one school in the west Chicago suburb of Lisle paying a water bill three times higher than another? The answer has to do with a private utility company.
Millions of people with an Affordable Care Act health plan face a massive jump in premiums next year — this chart shows just how much.
It's the holiday season, which means it's the most common time of year for norovirus to spread. Here's what you need to know about this winter stomach bug.
A study conducted in part by Chicago's Northwestern Medicine found that tanning beds not only triple the risk of melanoma, but can also damage DNA across nearly the whole skin surface.
An investigation into the case of a Michigan man who contracted rabies after an organ transplant provided more details on the infection's origin.
The newest measles vaccination numbers released by Chicago Public Schools shows immunizations are finally moving in the right direction.
American Airlines announced Monday that it is adding 100 more departures from Chicago early next year as it continues its expansion at O'Hare International Airport.
The Chicago Bears are expanding their search for a new stadium to Northwest Indiana, even though they already own land in Arlington Heights and have also proposed a new lakefront stadium in Chicago.
A Culver's is coming to Chicago's South Loop, a real estate broker has confirmed.
A new vision for passenger rail is on track in southeastern Wisconsin. The MARK Passenger Rail Commission held its inaugural meeting on December 5, 2025, at Racine City Hall.
U.S. Steel says it'll resume making steel slabs at its Granite City Works plant in Illinois amid strengthening demand.
It marks the second lawsuit in recent months accusing the filmmaker and studio mogul of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances.
The band announced Perry Bamonte's death on their official website on Friday.
The message, aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day, reflected on the impact of President Trump's second term in office thus far.
The singer said an MRI showed a cancerous spot on one of his lungs after he recovered from a lengthy bout of bronchitis.
James Ransone, the actor who played Ziggy Sobotka in the HBO series "The Wire" and appeared in many other TV shows and movies, has died.
Some homeowners in central Illinois were dealing with damage they didn't expect in December, after a tornado touched down on Sunday amid severe storms.
The Chicago Board of Education on Monday voted to increase its property tax levy for next year to generate $25 million in new revenue for the Chicago Public Schools.
Expect clearing skies as temps dip in the Chicago area, with some light snow in Northwest Indiana. Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon is tracking the latest.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city has learned lessons from the violence that followed the Tree Lighting event.
A new law will begin targeting rogue tow truck companies in Illinois, starting Jan. 1, 2026, seeking to stop tow companies from rebranding under a new name if they're proven to have predatory practices.
Some homeowners in central Illinois were dealing with damage they didn't expect in December, after a tornado touched down on Sunday amid severe storms.
A new law will begin targeting rogue tow truck companies in Illinois, starting Jan. 1, 2026, seeking to stop tow companies from rebranding under a new name if they're proven to have predatory practices.
As thousands of people are expected downtown for New Year's Eve celebrations, Mayor Johnson, the Chicago police, and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications are trying to get out ahead of any safety concerns.
O'Hare staff expected this holiday travel season to possibly set records at the Chicago hub.
Police said the officers, in a marked squad car, hit a median while in traffic.
As thousands of people are expected downtown for New Year's Eve celebrations, Mayor Johnson, the Chicago police, and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications are trying to get out ahead of any safety concerns.
Cameras not working, video evidence missed by police and a psychic that leads a hit and run victim's son to a clue that changes the case
Some Chicago area hospitals are at risk of significant flooding both in and around the buildings, according to new KFF Health News/Fathom models.
Lawmakers in Springfield are looking to address the high water bills being reported in some suburbs from customers of Illinois American Water.
Electric bills in the Chicago area could go up as much as $70 in the next three years because of data centers, according to the Citizens Utility Board.
Playing the Music City Bowl isn't exactly what the Tennessee Volunteers once targeted in a season that featured four losses to teams inside the top 15 of the final College Football Playoff rankings.
Brock Purdy threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings with 2:15 to play, and the San Francisco 49ers forced an incomplete pass on the final play from the 2 to beat the Chicago Bears 42-38 and set up a Week 18 showdown for the top seed in the NFC.
The Penguins led 4-0 midway through the first period.
The Bears have the potential to become the NFC's No. 1 seed with victories over the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions and one loss by the Seattle Seahawks.
Up 95-94 with about five minutes to play, Milwaukee got 3-pointers from Rollins and AJ Green during an 8-0 run that gave it some breathing room. The Bulls never got closer than three the rest of the night.
Chicago police are warning about a string of burglaries last week targeting businesses in the Logan Square and Humboldt Park neighborhoods.
The owners of a consignment shop in Chicago's northwest suburbs said they are devastated after thieves nearly wiped out their entire inventory in a matter of seconds.
Police were coming up short Monday in their investigation of a mass shooting in Chicago's River North district, which killed one man and left three others in critical condition.
Charges have now been filed against four people after a teenager's gun went off during a struggle with police in Chicago's West Lawn neighborhood.
The ages of the victims range from 18 to 55, according to police.
