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Illinois is receiving nearly $300 million in federal funding to track down and replace toxic lead pipes that deliver drinking water to homes across the state.
The major investment is part of a $2.9 billion national funding package from the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency.
Illinois received about 10% of the federal dollars — the largest allocation among all 50 states.
Nationwide, the EPA estimates there are approximately 4 million lead service lines buried across the country that are still in use. Illinois leads the nation, with about 1.5 million lead pipes. More than 400,000 of the state’s lead service lines are in Chicago as a result of the city’s building codes which required lead connections up until 1986.
There is no safe level of lead exposure according to the EPA. Lead is a potent neurotoxin that can cause irreversible cognitive, cardiovascular and reproductive problems. Plumbing containing lead is dangerous because it can leach into drinking water and has no smell or taste.
“[We] will work hard to secure our fair share but there is no determination yet about how much Chicago will receive,” according to a statement from Megan Vidis, spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Water Management.
The Trump administration is branding the investment as part of its “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, but the funds were previously promised under the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The investment was slashed earlier this year when Republican lawmakers repurposed $125 million from the funding package for wildfire prevention.
Due to the cut, Illinois will receive approximately $15 million less than it would have originally.
“If the federal government is serious about getting the lead out and modernizing the nation’s aging water infrastructure, then it must sustain Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments and be committed to strengthening, not scaling back,” said Chakena Sims, a senior policy advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council.