"Water Bills" CUB holding meeting 10:00 a.m., Monday, June 25 Homer Glen Village Hall Board Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                              CONTACT: Mike Truppa

June 22, 2018                                                                                                 (312) 286-5077

MEDIA ADVISORY

Illinois’ top utility watchdog will join with suburban Chicago leaders to urge Gov. Bruce Rauner to stand up for consumers and veto House Bill 4508, legislation that favors two powerful private water companies and opens the door for higher water bills across the state.  

The news conference is:

10:00 a.m., Monday, June 25

Homer Glen Village Hall Board Room

14240 W 151^st Street

            Homer Glen, IL 60491

HB 4508, which passed the General Assembly this spring, renews earlier legislation that allows Aqua Illinois and Illinois American Water to automatically raise their existing customers’ rates to fund municipal acquisitions. This bill also repeals a 7,500-connection limit on the size of systems that the water companies can buy.

Consumer advocates fear the legislation will allow Illinois' two biggest private water companies to march across the state buying up municipal water systems and raising customer rates.  The parent companies of Aqua and Illinois American made a combined profit of $150 million in the first quarter alone, and past reviews have shown that the two companies charge up to 70 percent more than public systems in the region.

State Sen. Sue Rezin and Bryan McDaniel, director of governmental affairs for the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), will lead the news conference. The event will also feature Homer Glen Mayor George Yukich, who can speak about his constituents’ history of skyrocketing bills under Illinois American Water.   

CUB is Illinois’ leading nonprofit utility watchdog organization. Created by the Illinois Legislature, CUB opened its doors in 1984 to represent the interests of residential and small-business utility customers. Since then, CUB has saved consumers more than $20 billion by helping to block rate hikes and secure refunds. For more information, call CUB’s Consumer Hotline at 1-800-669-5556 or visit www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                              CONTACT: Mike Truppa

June 25, 2018                                                                                                 (312) 286-5077

CUB, SUBURBAN LEADERS URGE GOV. RAUNER TO VETO BAD WATER BILL,

SAY HB 4508 GIVES IL AMERICAN TOO MUCH POWER TO IMPOSE RATE HIKES

Suburban Chicago leaders and the state’s top consumer watchdog group on Monday urged Gov. Bruce Rauner to veto a bill that will give special treatment to Illinois’ most powerful private water companies, making it easier for them to buy municipal water systems and slap their customers with higher rates.

 At a news conference in Homer Glen, state Sen. Sue Rezin and the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), warned that House Bill 4508 gives Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois far too much power to march across the state and take over municipal water systems.

“Families across the suburbs and in my district have been sticker shocked over the years by the steep increases in their water bills,” State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) said. “Private water companies across the state have had a history of large water increases. This legislation would only allow those rates to climb higher, offering a blank check for these private water companies to use ratepayers to expand their company footprint throughout the state. What customers need is a real, hard cap on future rate increases for all ratepayers affected, stricter oversight by the Illinois Commerce Commission, and the ability for local voters to have a voice by referendum before their water systems are sold to a private company.”

HB 4508, which passed the General Assembly this spring, renews earlier legislation that allows Aqua Illinois and Illinois American Water to impose automatic rate hikes to bankroll the purchase of municipal water systems.

Under HB 4508, the companies can automatically raise their existing customers’ rates to fund municipal acquisitions—by 2.5 percent for one acquisition, or a total of 5 percent for multiple acquisitions. The new bill is actually worse than the legislation passed in 2013, because it removes a 7,500-connection cap on the size of systems that the water companies can buy.

HB 4508 easily passed the Senate, but failed to get a veto-proof majority in the House, opening the door for a gubernatorial veto. The legislation is now on the governor’s desk, and he has 60 calendar days to sign it.