Welcome to Newswire — your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what action we can take to make our city great, featuring public meeting coverage by City Bureau’s Documenters.
Quote/Term of the Week
“It’s mind-boggling and, quite frankly, it’s very disturbing. There are hundreds of stories out there … so we’re gonna fix this.”
— Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward) speaking to Diane Carli, who received a six-figure water bill for her family’s vacant property.
[City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development, Oct. 9, 2025]
Water works
Backed by alders, a Chicago property owner is fighting a six-figure water bill from the city. Diane Carli was shocked to receive a water bill totaling nearly $240,000 for a long-vacant family property on the Southwest Side.
After the Department of Water Management installed a water meter in 2023, it logged an unwieldy 500,000 gallons of water passing through the property monthly — enough to fill three swimming pools daily for a year, one 15th Ward staffer noted.
City Council is calling on the city comptroller to activate provisions of theLeak Relief Pilot Program. The two-year pilot program started in January and seeks to provide debt relief to eligible applicants who experienced unexpected hikes in their water bill due to leaks on their property.
Alders shared various stories from constituents who have reported misreadings from their water meters, in line with a trend of property owners reporting significant jumps in their water bills in recent years.
Committee Chair Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward) said the committee would work directly with the Law Department to find a solution and ensure Carli’s family is not held fiscally responsible for the bill.
City Council Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development by Tema Zeldes-Roth and Aidan Kim
What you can do:
Catch up on the headlines:
Chicagoans voice frustrations over unusually high water bills | WGN
City of Chicago admits $35k water bill a mistake — after NBC-5 Responds steps in to help Rogers Park landlord | NBC Chicago
Building blocks
Last week, during the Committee on Housing and Real Estate meeting, 14 of the 20 developments alders discussed were City-owned parcels of land from the ChiBlockBuilding platform.
The City launched the platform in 2019 with the intention of streamlining the sale of vacant lots on the South and West sides, as well as fast-tracking development, claiming to shave six to eight months off of real estate transaction timelines. The city owns nearly 7,000 vacant lots.
Earlier this month, the city opened a new round of applications for the city-owned lots. A total of 486 parcels are available for private purchase and designated for commercial, residential and mixed-use construction, as well as side yards, open space and urban agriculture. For those bidding for a parcel, the city will hold an informational webinar Oct. 15.
City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate by Beatrice Crist and Moussa Diakite
What you can do:
Catch up on the headlines:
City hopes to fast-track sale of 2,000 vacant lots with new universal application | Block Club Chicago
City offers 2,000 lots in first wave of 'Come Home' plan to repopulate empty parcels | Crain’s Chicago Business
Find the vacant lots near you: Click here to search for available vacant lots near you.
A version of this story was first published in the October 15, 2025 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Civic Editor Dawn Rhodes at dawn@citybureau.org.