Lawsuit Alleges Racism At Chicago Water

A lawsuit filed last month alleged that officials in the Chicago water department routinely mistreated African-American employees.

“A putative class of current and former employees slapped the Chicago Department of Water Management and its leadership with a suit in Illinois federal court, accusing the agency of creating an environment of rampant racism and sexism,” Law360 reported.

“African-American employees of the Chicago water department routinely were denied promotions, subjected to racial slurs and sexually harassed because of their race,” the lawsuits alleges, per the Chicago Tribune.

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court on behalf of seven department employees, both former and current. It seeks class-action status, potentially expanding its significance, if granted, the report said.

The lawsuit claims, per the Tribune:

“Non-black managers and employees" subject black employees to racial slurs and racially charged phrases, including the n-word and "you people," the lawsuit says.

"Black female employees are called bitches and whores on a regular basis," the filing reads.

Department officials "have done nothing to remedy the hostile work environment," the lawsuit contends.

Here’s how the city responded, per the Tribune:

In response to the lawsuit, Chicago Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said the city "has no tolerance for discrimination of employees in any form, and while we cannot comment on this lawsuit specifically, the city does not take any allegations of this nature lightly."

The lawsuit comes on the heels of City Inspector General Joe Ferguson finding scandalous emails “circulating in the Department of Water Management while investigating allegations that the son of a former alderman had used his city email account to sell guns,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported in May.

The Chicago water department is no stranger to controversy. A former top water official, Donald Tomczak, served prison time for a scandal in which “jobs and promotions were handed out in exchange for political work that created an army of ground troops for multiple politicians, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel in his successful 2002 bid for Congress,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

To read more about water department scandals visit Water Online’s Labor Solutions Center.