Ted Gregory, Patrick O’Connell and Cecilia Reyes: Inside the Water Drain
Channel: Chi Hack Night
Date: 2018-01-18

In October 2017, the Chicago Tribune published The Water Drain, a multi-part series investigating water rates throughout the Chicago region.

The Tribune discovered that a profound disparity exists in what people pay for a basic life necessity – their drinking water – along income and racial lines. Residents of the poorest communities paid 31 percent more, on average, than those in the wealthiest. At times, collection tactics in poorer communities were akin to those of payday lenders, with water reconnection fees running as high as $300 or more.

Tribune reporters Ted Gregory, Patrick O’Connell and Cecilia Reyes with walk us through their findings and how they reported this series.

Chi Hack Night page:
https://chihacknight.org/events/2018/01/16/inside-the-water-drain.html

The Water Drain series, Chicago Tribune:
http://graphics.chicagotribune.com/news/lake-michigan-drinking-water-rates/index.html