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Residents press village over high bills as village attorney seeks state help on Illinois American Water complaints
Summary
Miss Brianna, a resident who organized a recent meeting on water billing, urged Homer Glen neighbors to monitor bills and file complaints with the Illinois Commerce Commission after about 60 people attended her session.
Miss Brianna, a resident who organized a recent community meeting on water billing, urged neighbors to monitor bills and file complaints with the Illinois Commerce Commission after about 60 people attended her meeting on local water problems.
"I just wanted to step up tonight again and stress the importance of keeping an eye on your water bills, remove them from autopay so you know what's coming," Miss Brianna said, and she provided an email for neighbors to contact her: watertaskforce.HomerGlen@Gmail.com.
The village attorney, identified in the meeting as Attorney Pasquinelli, told trustees his office is pursuing several avenues to help residents who say they have been overcharged or otherwise harmed by Illinois American Water. "My office... is gonna be meeting with the Illinois attorney general's office the March," he said, and added the village is exploring whether proposed legislation might give residents additional remedies.
Pasquinelli said the village has been collecting complaints about both rates and unexplained large meter readings. He described two distinct problems: commission-set rates and billing disputes over quantity of service. "Issues regarding quantities of service and volumes of service, the ICC and the courts look at those as being the same thing synonymous with rate increases," Pasquinelli said, and said the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) currently has primary jurisdiction over rate and quantity disputes.
Because those matters fall under ICC authority, Pasquinelli said the village cannot itself resolve rate-setting decisions. Instead, he said, the attorney's office will (1) meet with the Illinois attorney general's office to report the volume of complaints from Homer Glen residents and (2) explore, with trustees, possible legislative changes that could offer residents other avenues for relief. He described the term "reparations" as legal shorthand for money- or bill-related relief sought by customers who believe they were overcharged.
Trustees and staff emphasized practical steps residents can take now. Trustee Fialco told residents to research prior litigation and the village's historical relationship to water infrastructure before spending on legal action. "Before you spend your hard earned money gathering lawyers, I would make sure you do an in-depth research on the whole subject going all the way back," he said, noting prior multi-jurisdictional efforts and settlements.
Village Manager Joe Baber said staff will continue assisting residents by collecting complaints that can be referred to the ICC and to the village's legal team for review. Pasquinelli also directed residents to a compilation on the village website that outlines the chronology of local utility actions through 2023.
Why it matters: dozens of residents attended a community meeting and raised billing concerns that trustees and the village attorney say warrant escalation to state authorities and review of potential local legislative remedies. The village has not enacted any new billing rules; rather, the attorney’s office said it will pursue meetings and possible legislative proposals and will assist residents in documenting and filing complaints with the ICC.
The meeting produced no formal vote on legal action; rather, the attorney described planned meetings and options to pursue outside the village’s direct regulatory authority.
