The Great Lakes provide water to hundreds of cities and tribal nations, from Chicago to Duluth to Toronto. Leaders are joining together to advocate for their shared needs and to protect the shared resources of the lakes.

“ICE has not made any city that they’ve gotten into safer,” U.S. Sen Tammy Duckworth said.  “In fact, in every city they’ve gone into, they’ve created chaos.”

City crews are going to have to sharply increase efforts to remove the lines from homes and two- and four-flats to comply with state and federal requirements, Department of Water Management Commissioner Randy Conner said.

Chicago has more lead service lines than any other city in the U.S. with more than 400,000 lead water service lines are still active in the city. Local officials are not moving fast enough to address the cascading disparities and environmental injustices, community advocates say.

Illinois has the most lead pipes per capita of any state, according to a 2023 study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Researchers found about 75% of residential city blocks in Chicago had lead-contaminated water. And more than two-thirds children under the age of 6 in Chicago live on these blocks and may be exposed to lead-contaminated water.

Mayor Brandon Johnson praised former Water Commissioner Randy Conner as a “proven leader and someone who knows the ins and outs of infrastructure and water management,” in a statement.

Decades after officials banned lead in gasoline for new cars and stopped the sale of lead paint there are still an estimated 500,000 U.S. children with levels of lead in their blood that are considered high, and experts say lead in drinking water is an important source.

Toxic lead-based paint was banned in 1978, but the threat of poisoning persists. In suburban Cook County, officials say as many as half a million homes have lead paint hazards that present enormous health threats for young children.

The survey released Tuesday was the first time the agency asked about lead pipes and gave the best count yet of how many are underground. Illinois ranked second in with 1.04 million lead pipes.

Recently, a young child was poisoned in his Belmont-Cragin apartment and now faces a host of health problems. It’s spurred a debate on whether the city can do more to fix the problem before another child is affected. 

Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, led Chicago’s effort to fight the deadly virus. On this third anniversary of the pandemic, Arwady reflects on lessons learned and whether she would have done anything differently. 

Paint containing lead has been outlawed in Chicago since 1978, but a WTTW News investigation has found the vast majority of Chicago’s housing stock still contains potentially toxic levels of the substance.

Starting Jan. 1, city crews will have to replace all of the lead service lines connected to a water main that is being repaired — and foot the bill, which is expected to cost between $15,000 to $26,000 per line.

One in 20 tap water samples taken from thousands of Chicagoans found lead levels at or above federal limits, according to a recent analysis by the Guardian. It also found that nine of the top 10 ZIP codes with the largest percentages of high test results were in neighborhoods with majority Black and Latino residents.

Despite promises, a federally-funded program has removed just 154 lead service lines from Chicago homes as of Monday, according to data provided to WTTW News by the Department of Water Management.