Daywatch: The cost to fix Chicago's water mains
Good morning, Chicago.
Scores of water mains throughout Chicago are too close to sewer lines, according to a new report that cautions the potential risks to public health could cost taxpayers millions of dollars to fix.
In a six-page letter released yesterday, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg slammed the Department of Water Management for failing to ensure contractors complied with state and city regulations intended to prevent human and industrial waste from tainting drinking water.
Witzburg said experts told her investigators that the level of pressure maintained in underground water mains likely thwarted any contamination. But she urged the city to improve its communication with Chicagoans, in particular when sections of the system malfunction and boil orders are issued.
Read the full story from the Tribune's Michael Hawthorne.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
While Gov. JB Pritzker delivered a no-new-taxes, belt-tightening spending proposal for Illinois, the prospective presidential contender spoke to a larger, national audience by likening the actions of President Donald Trump and his followers to the rise of Nazism in 1930s Germany.
Painting a brighter picture of the state's finances than his administration had last year, when a $3.2 billion budget hole was said to loom, Pritzker's $55.2 billion plan for the year beginning July 1 includes required funding increases for schools and pension contributions. But the proposal keeps spending flat in most other areas, including programs favored by the second-term Democrat and his allies in the General Assembly.
American Airlines is planning to boost flying capacity out of O'Hare International Airport this year, marking a departure from the airline's pullback at its Chicago hub in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The carrier will fly to nine new domestic and international cities from Chicago in 2025 and use larger planes, American announced Thursday.
Indiana House legislators gave initial approval to a bill aimed at redrawing the Indiana-Illinois border Wednesday, but the bill continues to open up a Pandora's box of amendments — from marijuana legalization to allowing Indiana counties to secede.
Bill that places restrictions on Medicaid advances to Indiana House
Indiana House passes ban on transgender women participating in women's college sports
After years of litigation, Endeavor Health has settled the last batch of pending lawsuits filed by patients who allege they were sexually abused by former obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Fabio Ortega – bringing the total number of lawsuits the health system has settled over the matter to more than 75.
Read the investigation on sexual abuse by providers
The AIDS Foundation Chicago and two other nonprofits filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration, challenging executive orders related to diversity, equity and gender.
The AIDS Foundation Chicago, the National Urban League and the National Fair Housing Alliance filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking to halt three recent executive orders.
After spending nearly six years in six courts, the legal battle between the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin and the city of Waukegan is likely over after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit put an end to the last pending case.
Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga is excited about his first opening-day start, made more special by the fact it's at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
Former Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. is trying to create something positive out of the school's upside-down banner mishap over the weekend.
As if Chicago didn't have enough problems. Here comes Godzilla, as in Gojira, the Big G, Tokyo's Own.
Apple has released a sleeker and more expensive version of its lowest priced iPhone in an attempt to widen the audience for a bundle of artificial intelligence technology that the company has been hoping will revive demand for its most profitable product lineup.
The iPhone 16e unveiled yesterday is the fourth-generation of a model that's sold at a dramatically lower price than the iPhone's standard and premium models.
Chicago first embraced this Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice irreverent Biblical creation with the help of some 500 performances from a bare-chested Donny Osmond back in the mid-1990s.
Any show that was so successful for so long in downtown Chicago that an Osmond was persuaded to move himself and his family to Wilmette is a piece of theater that deserves respect, writes Tribune theater critic Chris Jones.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
American Military News
14 minutes ago
- American Military News
700 Marines deployed to Los Angeles amid major riots
President Donald Trump's administration deployed 700 Marines to Los Angeles and the surrounding area on Monday in response to the city's massive riots against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. In a Monday press release, U.S. Northern Command announced that it had activated the Marine infantry battalion that the Trump administration 'placed in an alert status over the weekend.' 'Approximately 700 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division will seamlessly integrate with the Title 10 forces under Task Force 51 who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area,' U.S. Northern Command stated. 'The activation of the Marines is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency.' According to the press release, Task Force 51 includes 700 active-duty Marines and roughly 2,100 National Guardsmen in Title 10 status. Northern Command noted that members of Task Force 51 have been trained in 'de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force.' 'Due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings, approximately 700 active-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order,' Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. 'We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers – even if Gavin Newsom will not.' READ MORE: Videos: 500 Marines ready to deploy to Los Angeles amid major riots Northern Command confirmed in the press release that there were roughly 1,700 soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Los Angeles and the surrounding area as of Monday. On Monday evening, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Sean Parnell tweeted, 'At the order of the President, the Department of Defense is mobilizing an additional 2,000 California National Guard to be called into federal service to support ICE & to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties.' According to The Associated Press, Trump's authorization for the Department of Defense to deploy an additional 2,000 National Guardsmen in response to the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles brings the total number of National Guardsmen mobilized by the federal government in response to the riots to over 4,100. In a Tuesday morning statement on Truth Social, Trump said, 'If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now, much like 25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. do to an incompetent Governor and Mayor.'
CNBC
18 minutes ago
- CNBC
Why Elon Musk turned against Trump's $5 trillion mega tax and spending bill
President Donald Trump is pushing to pass a sweeping tax and spending bill by July 4, but the proposal is already sparking fierce internal GOP debate. The bill combines 2017 tax cut extensions with new Trump-era proposals, including deductions on American-made auto loans and changes to child tax credits. But not everyone is on board. Elon Musk has launched a high-profile feud with Trump over the bill, and key Republican senators are warning that the bill could add trillions to the national debt.
USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
About 100 National Endowment for the Humanities employees laid off, union says
About 100 National Endowment for the Humanities employees laid off, union says About 2/3 of National Endowment for the Humanities employees were laid off Tuesday. The agency plans to issue half of the number of grants next year Show Caption Hide Caption Active-duty marines deployed for Los Angeles anti-ICE protests President Donald Trump is sending in active-duty Marines to assist law enforcement with immigration protests in Los Angeles, California. Approximately two-thirds of the staff at the National Endowment for the Humanities will lose their jobs when their "reduction in force" goes into effect June 10, according to their union, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403. "A major agency restructuring is underway without the appropriate planning needed to ensure the continuity of operations," the local said in a statement. "These drastic changes … represent an existential threat to those institutions and individuals who rely on support from NEH to research, preserve, and interpret our shared heritage. The agency's employees were not part of the lawsuit that currently has other reduction in force efforts on hold. The National Endowment for the Humanities did not respond to a request for comment. Less than 60 employees are expected to remain. The agency has a $207 million budget to fund humanities programs such as history, law, literature, philosophy, and linguistics. In early April, NEH terminated more than 1,000 existing grants, including one for the National History Day competition and grants for state humanities councils in all 50 states. The agency has already quietly posted that roughly half of its funding opportunities will not be offered in the next fiscal year or will no longer be offered at all. Among the grants that the agency will no longer offer next year are awards specifically for faculty at Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal institutions, training for K-12 and higher education teachers and studies on endangered languages and the experiences of war. The preserved grants include projects for the country's 250th anniversary, including a statue garden of famous Americans.
