1 lawsuit about polluted Crestwood water settled

Under a settlement approved this week by a Cook County judge, the village of Crestwood will pay residents $500,000 to settle one of the class-action lawsuits filed after it was learned that the southern Chicago suburb had been secretly pumping contaminated water to households for more than 20 years.

Crestwood will also provide residents with free garbage pickup, vehicle stickers and business licenses for two years. Village officials will also hire an independent environmental consultant to certify that Crestwood's drinking water is safe for the next three years.

The Chicago Tribune revealed last year that the village had been drawing water from a contaminated well, apparently to save money. The village kept piping the polluted water even after state environmental officials warned that cancer-causing chemicals had oozed into the well.