Below-Ground Governing, Above-Ground Consequences: One-Party Control over Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Costs Property Taxpayers

Pennington, Rueckert, and Shestokas challenge one-party control at MWRD with a call for public project tracking and genuine accountability

Managing water. Respecting dollars. You’d think those would be everyday operating principles at a highly scientific public agency with a budget of more than $1.8 billion a year.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) does work that’s too important to hide behind complicated financial reports and photos of smiling politicians holding shovels. We see the smiles and the shovels. What we don’t see nearly enough of is progress, costs, delays or priorities for solving stormwater problems. And by “we,” I mean you, the taxpayers.

MWRD’s nine elected commissioners oversee wastewater treatment, stormwater management, and flood protection for about 5.2 million Cook County residents. Their job is to set a long-term vision, meet deadlines and protect your home and your bank account.

A town deteriorates while MWRD delays

The Central Park stormwater project in Harvey began in 2018. The plan was about two miles of storm sewers and a detention basin. In 2023, MWRD acquired 31 properties and moved out families who had lived there for decades. The homes they left behind sat empty, and neighbors say those buildings became magnets for trespassing, vandalism and fires.

After a fire on September 1, I called publicly on MWRD to secure its properties. Within days, the homes were boarded up and the yards were mowed. I was glad for the neighbors. But it shouldn’t take a candidate’s press release to get an agency to take care of what it owns.

Here’s the project’s arithmetic:

Cost: UP 32 percent. $9.85 million to $13 million.

Structures projected to benefit: Down 70 percent. 690 to 209.

Timeline: Eleven years to completion. Maybe.

MWRD also awarded a $1.06 million demolition contract to KLF Enterprises, a company previously cited by OSHA for alleged asbestos safety violations and sued by the Illinois Attorney General.

Behind those numbers are real families who lost longtime homes and a community still waiting for flood protection.

Harvey may be the most visible example, but it isn’t the only one. Across Cook County, we’ve found delayed projects, neglected communities, and residents still waiting for protection they were promised.

Money committed. Results must be delivered

Even with our experience in government budgets and contracts, getting simple answers from MWRD is exhausting. Tracing one project through years of appropriations, amendments, shifting deadlines, and financial reports is an exercise in frustration. If it’s that hard for us, imagine what it’s like for a homeowner who just wants to know when her basement will stop flooding.

The board has allowed this lack of transparency to continue. An agency whose infrastructure runs underground shouldn’t conduct its public business the same way.

There’s a practical solution: One easy-to-use public project portal.

For every major project, residents should be able to see the original and current cost, funding sources, start date, expected completion date, percent complete, and an explanation for any major delay or change.

That same information would give commissioners a clearer basis for questioning staff, tracking commitments and reviewing results.

One public portal. Accountability for the board. Answers for taxpayers.

Real oversight also means learning from what goes wrong. After every major storm, MWRD should do an after-action review covering what happened, what worked, what failed and what has to change before the next one.

The Chicago Tribune editorial board made the case for independent oversight in its endorsement of Jill Shestokas, writing that “one-party rule in Cook County is an enemy of accountability.”

MWRD isn’t a political springboard. Ambition is no substitute for expertise, accountability and a real commitment to the job.

Experience that meets the mission

Each of us brings a fresh approach to the board.

Michelle Pennington: I’m a mom and a business owner, and I’ve managed real estate for more than 20 years. I know property maintenance, operating costs, and leasing, and I feel rising property taxes because I pay them too. MWRD owns a lot of real estate, and it needs steady oversight, not attention only after a problem makes the news.

Tim Rueckert: Tim served eight years as Northfield Township Highway Commissioner, reviewing construction plans and issuing more than 1,000 grading and drainage permits. As an Illinois law enforcement agent, he conducted tax fraud, criminal, and regulatory investigations, bringing serious experience in financial oversight and white-collar investigations.

Jill Shestokas: Jill served as MWRD’s Public Affairs Director from 2007 through 2010, explaining complex water, engineering, and legislative issues to the public and lawmakers. Her work earned two national awards for water policy education and legislative communications. She knows the agency from the inside and is committed to transparent project tracking and accountability.

Together, we bring experience in business, public infrastructure, stormwater management, real estate, and government accountability.

MWRD isn’t obscure just because most of its infrastructure is underground. Its work touches homes, neighborhoods, waterways, public health, and property tax bills across Cook County.

Its financial decisions and project results should be visible above ground.

The standard isn’t complicated.

How much did you commit? What did you deliver? And when?

Managing water and respecting dollars go hand in hand. The people paying the bills deserve to know what their money is accomplishing. That’s why Tim, Jill, and I are running together.

On November 3, Vote 3 for MWRD.

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Michelle Pennington is a candidate for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner.

Michelle Pennington, Tim Rueckert, and Jill Shestokas are candidates for commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in the November 3, 2026, election.