U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush to question USEPA, IEPA & CDC on Crestwood Water contamination at May 9 Town Hall meeting

CHICAGO – On Saturday, May 9, U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (IL-01) will host an urgent town hall meeting from 12 noon. to 2 p.m. where he will question the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on why the Village of Crestwood continued to give its residents contaminated tap water despite being warned the source of the water was polluted with a cancer-causing toxin.  The meeting will be held in the auditorium of Oak Forest Hospital, 15900 Cicero Avenue, Oak Forest, IL.

In addition to Crestwood residents, participants include USPEA representatives Tinka Hyde, director of the water division in Region 5, and Thomas Poy, chief groundwater and drinking water branch of the agency: IEPA Director Douglas P. Scott, Chief Toxicologist Dr. Tom Hornshaw and Deputy Manager, Division of Public Water Rick Cobb; CDC Senior Environmental health Scientist Mark Johnson of the agency’s Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Citizens will also have the opportunity to question government officials.

On April 20 Rush called for a federal investigation the Village of Crestwood to determine if civil or criminal charges are warranted against the municipality after learning more than 51 million gallons of toxic water annually was knowingly pumped into citizen’s homes for more than 20 years. The action resulted in a raid nine days later in which more than a dozen federal agents raided city facilities and seized documents.

Previously, the congressman, himself a cancer survivor, listened to hundreds of distraught and outraged Crestwood residents unsatisfied with the level of response from village officials. More than 600 people attended a meeting at Moraine Valley Church in neighboring Palos Heights, including Tricia Krause, whom Rep. Rush hailed as a hero for her efforts to expose the issue.  The single mother worked tirelessly for years to expose Crestwood’s water problems and with the help of environmental reporter Michael Hawthorne finally helped turn the tide toward justice.

"The government is supposed to protect its people but in this case it appears the Village of Crestwood did the complete opposite," Rush said. "Tricia Krause is an American hero for being brave enough, strong enough and persistent enough to expose this environmental travesty and get justice for the people of Crestwood. I intend to use the full weight of my office to see that justice is served and that this never happens in another U.S. city."

In an April 20 letter to USEPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Rush demanded a full accounting of the condition of the water in Crestwood. Days later he contacted U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the CDC to expand the investigation to include both legal and health remedies. The congressman has not ruled out a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C.

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