CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Mayor Lightfoot’s decision to stop the city from installing water meters in homes raises questions about how Chicago was handling the issue of lead in drinking water up to now.Last November, Water Commissioner Randy Connor and then Health Commissioner Julie Morita acknowledged they had known for six months that some homes that had water meters installed had elevated levels of lead in their water. Aldermen and others were outraged, so why did Mayor Lightfoot keep Commissioner Connor?
"This meter issues isn't a Randy Connor issue, this is a strange coincidence with the meters that we learned about because of the testing and the study that was ongoing to make sure that our water is safe - and again I want to emphasize that our water is safe," Mayor Lightfoot said.
Now Mayor Lightfoot has suspended the installation of water meters while the city gets a handle on, and hopefully, solves the problem. The Mayor was asked if Rahm Emanuel should have taken this step. She refused to say. Only that she is taking the step now.
There’s been more testing since November. The Mayor points out tests showed only 36 homes out of more than 500 shad lead levels above federal standards. They’re still determining the cause.