The Daily Chronicle, which covers several communities in and around DeKalb County in Illinois, is publishing a series that examines the condition of public drinking water system in Sycamore, where residents are complaining about foul smelling, yellowish water running from their taps. With support from The Fund, the newspaper has filed public records request that showed that local officials have detected elevated lead levels in tap water in at least six homes. Residents of the community of about 18,000 people, 70 miles west of Chicago, told the newspaper they are worried that the city isn’t doing enough to fix problems. In December, after the first stories in the series were published, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said it is requiring the city to increase increase testing on water samples.
Series on dirty drinking water in Illinois sparks state action
