In July 2017, with Harvey more than $20 million in arrears on its water bills to Chicago and continuing to improperly divert water funds in violation of a consent decree, a Cook County Circuit Court judge took the extraordinary measure of revoking the city’s control of its water operations and appointing an independent receiver to oversee them.
Now 2 1/2 years into the receivership, with Harvey under new leadership, Mayor Christopher Clark is aiming to take back authority of the city Water Department’s finances.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.