The letter from State Sen. Louis Viverito (Voice, May 2) suggests a way of “improving” the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago by separating the district into nine separate districts. But Sen. Viverito’s ideas are way off the mark.
The single most important mission of the Water Reclamation District is to protect Lake Michigan, and that cannot be split into suburban versus city interests. He mentions “localizing government,” but Lake Michigan is the source of water for more than 6 million people in Cook, Lake, DuPage and Will Counties. The protection of that priceless resource cannot be divided among commissioners with a narrow political constituency.
The Water Reclamation District was created by referendum in 1889, and the referendum provided that commissioners would be elected at large by the voters of the district. To take away that power to elect commissioners at large would be disenfranchising the voters of Cook County. Voters today want more of a voice in government, not less.
In 1994, voters in Cook County voted in single-member districts for the first time for members of the Cook County Board. But the responsibilities of the Cook County Board cannot be compared to the Water Reclamation District. Cook County commissioners oversee Cook County Hospital, Cook County Jail, the sheriff’s department, the courts, the Forest Preserve District–their responsibilities are many and varied. The Water Reclamation District has the one responsibility that benefits everyone in Cook County.
The tunnel and reservoir project has caused a dramatic improvement in the local waterways by capturing waste that would otherwise go into Lake Michigan and the local waterways. This important project is an example of a regional approach to an environmental problem that affects everyone in Cook County.
