Niles, Glenview battle over water bills

Two Chicago suburbs are battling over water. The village of Niles has filed a lawsuit in Cook County Chancery Court against the village of Glenview seeking about two months’ worth of water bills totaling $698,000.

Niles Village Manager George Van Geem says his town wants Glenview to adhere to a 21-year agreement in which Niles agreed to provide water that it bought from the city of Chicago to the North Suburban Public Utility Co, now controlled by Glenview. Niles spent millions to build and upgrade its water distribution system.

Glenview Village Manager Todd Hileman is contending Niles is including sewer rates in its water bills.

Glenview spokeswoman Lynne Stiefel tells the Chicago Tribune in an email the village withheld payments “based on preliminary information that Niles has been overcharging Glenview.”