In a shocking turn of events, an 82-year-old senior citizen from the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago is facing a staggering water bill of $233,000 for a vacant home that has been without plumbing for years. Diane Carli, who inherited the house from her late husband, claims the bill is an error, yet the city of Chicago is threatening to garnish her pension.
The property in question has been abandoned and gutted, devoid of water services. Diane allowed the city to install a water meter at the property after being contacted in December 2024, under the impression that this was a necessary step. To her dismay, she later received a bill indicating that over 500,000 gallons of water had been used, leading to the outrageous total.
“I said, ‘A bill for what?’ And they said for water,” Carli expressed, clearly baffled by the charges. Despite the fact that the house has no plumbing facilities, she has been continuously billed since the meter installation.
The Water Department’s claim that she used a massive quantity of water has put her account in collections, with threats of pension garnishment looming over her. Diane’s frustration is evident as she reflects on the absurdity of the situation. She described it as, “Unbelievable. This is totally wrong.”
Her daughter, Lisa, has taken action to combat the bill, even visiting City Hall to seek assistance but mentions that they have received no definitive solutions. Lisa noted, “As soon as you touched our property and made entry into our property, now we have water bill of $233,000.” Despite their efforts, the Water Department remains unyielding to the family’s claims.
Seeking help from Ald. Raymond Lopez, the family learned that efforts to negotiate a more manageable bill have not yielded favorable outcomes. Ald. Lopez recounted that the highest concession granted was a $25,000 reduction in penalties for late charges. He expressed disbelief at the exorbitant bill, noting he had never encountered anything like it in his lifetime.
The city recently replaced the water meter at Diane’s property, now showing zero water usage, which raises further questions about the validity of the previous charges. Alderman Lopez and the Carli family are continuing their fight against the city to have the entire bill dismissed. Meanwhile, Diane is left feeling overwhelmed, stating, “They’re going to put me in the grave with this, because what do I do?”
The issue of erroneous water billing in Chicago is not isolated to Diane’s case. CBS News Chicago has been documenting similar incidents through their ongoing series “Getting Hosed,” revealing widespread frustrations among residents dealing with falsely inflated water bills for services they never received. In response to these ongoing challenges, the Chicago City Council approved a water bill relief program last year, though many residents still struggle with astronomical charges.
Diane Carli’s plight highlights a persistent problem in the city that is still awaiting a comprehensive resolution, emphasizing the need for systemic changes within the Water Department to prevent such egregious billing errors from occurring in the future.
image source from：cbs58
