When Michael Applegate walked into his long-vacant duplex in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, he expected dust and quiet—not a $67,000 water bill. The two-story building has sat unused since 2014, yet the city's billing system somehow generated a staggering balance for a property that, according to city records, didn't even have a functioning water meter during that entire period.
Applegate's case is not isolated. Local investigations by WLS and ABC7 have uncovered a pattern of inflated utility charges hitting commercial and residential properties across Chicago. Some bills have climbed as high as $274,000, leaving property owners—many of them small-scale investors—scrambling to understand how such debts could accrue on buildings with no active water use.
A citywide problem with water billing
In the South Shore neighborhood, property owner Amadou Mara faced a similar nightmare. His six-unit building typically ran about $5,000 a year in water charges. Then one bill spiked to $52,000, and with penalties and alleged usage, the total ballooned to over $274,000—even after the city replaced the meter. Another vacant building in Back of the Yards received a statement nearing $250,000, as CBS Chicago reported.
These cases point to systemic failures in Chicago's water metering infrastructure. Inspectors found no plumbing leaks in Applegate's duplex, and a 2022 police report confirmed the meter was simply missing. Yet the bills kept coming, and the financial fallout has been severe. Property owners say unresolved municipal liens block them from getting renovation permits, stalling neighborhood revitalization efforts and damaging their credit histories.
City officials, including finance controller Michael Belsky, insist they take billing accuracy seriously and encourage property owners to contact the Department of Finance to dispute charges. But for many, the process feels opaque and slow. "We're not asking for special treatment," said one affected investor, who asked to remain anonymous. "We just want the city to explain how a vacant building can rack up tens of thousands of dollars in water charges."
The issue extends beyond Chicago. In Terry, Mississippi, a resident watched a monthly bill jump from $28 to $179 overnight. Similar disputes over leak responsibility and metering errors are playing out in cities across the country, from stormwater projects in Florida to building health concerns in New York.
For Latino property owners—who make up a significant share of small-scale real estate investors in Chicago's South and West sides—these billing errors can be devastating. Many have built their portfolios through hard work and community ties, and a single erroneous bill can threaten their entire business. "This isn't just about numbers on a page," said María González, a housing advocate with the Latin United Community Housing Association. "It's about families who've invested everything in their neighborhoods, only to be hit with debts they never owed."
Advocates are calling for a comprehensive audit of the city's utility billing algorithms, as well as transparent dispute resolution channels. They also want the city to invest in modern metering technology that can prevent these errors from happening in the first place. "We need a system that works for everyone," González added. "Not one that punishes property owners for the city's own failures."
For now, Applegate and others like him are left to navigate a bureaucratic maze, hoping that their appeals will eventually lead to relief. But the clock is ticking—and so are the penalties.
