Chicago Thinks About Privatizing Its Water System

According to a little-known website, the Drudge Report, Chicago is considering privatizing its water utility. This would follow on the heels of: a very successful privatization of a local highway, the Skyway; the successful near-privatization of Midway Airport (it was successful because even though the deal fell through, the city got to keep the enormous down payment); and the not-successful-at-all (at least not yet) privatization of the city’s parking meter system.

This is something that could, and should, also be considered by Kansas City and Saint Louis. Both cities function with private utilities providing electricity and gas, but both have municipal water systems. In St. Louis County, even the water is provided by a private company, Missouri-American Water. Both St. Louis city and Kansas City have a valuable asset at their disposal that the private sector is fully capable of operating. I hope both cities are willing to give this a careful review, just like Chicago appears to be doing.