Mayor: Chicago can't afford to keep free water flowing to hospitals

Chicago can no longer afford to spend $20 million-a-year to keep free water flowing to hospitals, churches, universities and other non-profits, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Thursday. Emanuel said he?s asked his staff to study an ordinance co-signed by 29 aldermen that would restore free water to non-profits that provide education and social services to Chicagoans and have less than $250 million in assets. But, the mayor made it clear there is little room to maneuver. "We have to make some changes. We had to make some decisions because I didn't think it was fair to the taxpayers of Chicago and the residents to pay full freight and, in addition to full freight, subsidize the non-profits, especially the hospitals when they were paying pretty big salaries to people," he said.