Greetings

In December 2006, I began a six-year term on the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD).

It has been a momentous year. Lake Michigan water levels have flirted with their historic lows; many thousands of people challenged BP when the multinational oil giant proposed discharging more pollution into Lake Michigan from its refinery in Whiting, Indiana, pressuring the company to back off from its plans. In October, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, after a seven-year review, proposed new water quality standards for the Chicago area waterways. These new standards, if adopted by the Illinois Pollution Control Board, which is currently holding rule-making hearings on this matter, would require the MWRD to install disinfection technology at its three largest plants to remove more of the bacteria from the treated wastewater and would require the injection of more dissolved oxygen into several stretches of the river to improve habitat for aquatic life. Visit Chicago Area Waterways to review the proposed standards.

I have prepared a report on my first year in office, describing some of the District’s accomplishments and a number of policy issues facing us in the year ahead. View the PDF of my first Annual Report.

On January 31 I also had a brief essay on “What It’s Like To Be A Candidate” broadcast on Chicago Public Radio’s “848” program. Read or hear my essay at Chicago Public Radio.

Debra