Chicago Swamps Centenarian With $43,000 Water Bill
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Hawkins Fairley, a World War II veteran who celebrates his 100th birthday tomorrow, is an involuntary soldier in Chicago’s effort to return to fiscal stability, dollar by dollar -- or in his case, 43,113 of them.
That’s what the city says the retired steelworker owes in water bills that have multiplied from $3,200 three years ago, and that Fairley says he doesn’t owe. The disputed charge, which the city has been trying to collect since 2008, is one scene of a larger financial drama in Chicago, which has the worst-funded pension system among large U.S. cities and a projected $339 million deficit. Fitch Ratings lowered its credit three steps on Nov. 8 because of “unsustainable” retirement-fund burdens.