Lead Contamination

The unfunded mandate is an important endeavor for public health in the wake of high-profile lead water contamination seen in places like Flint, Michigan, Galesburg and Chicago, but completing the task will require the political willpower of municipalities to figure out how to fund the work.

Heyworth (61745), LeRoy (61752), Lexington (61753) and Towanda (61776) have all been added to the high risk list. Twenty ZIP codes in McLean County now have the high-risk designation, including 61701 that covers much of Bloomington.

The City of Bloomington and Town of Normal will spend about $101 million over the next decade to remove lead water pipes leading to people's homes, most of that in Bloomington.

At the last Bloomington City Council meeting, Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe tried to push the council to keep a $1.1 million increase in the property tax levy as the staff had presented. He called it a good compromise that would still result in a tax rate reduction. The attempt failed. The vote was to keep the levy flat.

Bloomington residents in the 61701 ZIP code can apply for an abatement program that will reduce the hazardous effects of in-home lead poisoning.

A study done by two Illinois Wesleyan University professors and a Bloomington veterinarian shows 48% of ground venison packets sampled had lead…