Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot on Friday declared an end to water shut-offs that have cut off a “lifeline” to thousands of low-income families struggling to pay skyrocketing water bills.
Water shut-offs have been the ultimate weapon against water bill scofflaws, a list that, during the 1990s, included scores of city employees and workers employed by other agencies of local government.
Lightfoot’s transition team wants to remove shut-offs from the city’s arsenal. The mayor-elect couldn’t agree more.
“Water is a basic human right. And when you cut somebody off from water, you’re effectively evicting them and putting them on the street.