Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

'If white people were still here, this wouldn’t happen': the majority-Black town flooded with sewage (Illinois)
The Guardian ^ | 2-11-21 | Eric Lutz

Posted on 02/12/2021 12:39:54 PM PST by dynachrome

Sharon Smith has to plunge her toilet to get it to flush. On rainy days, wastewater spills into her yard from nearby drainage ditches. Twice in the last year her house has flooded, leaving behind the sickening smell of sewage, she said.

Her carpets are ruined, the floorboards are buckling, the bathroom wall is pulling away from the tub, she said. In the laundry room, the worst-hit part of the house, the smell of mold lingers. “I want to move, because this flooding is ridiculous,” said Smith, 59.

For decades, residents of Centreville, a nearly all-Black town of 5,000 in southern Illinois, just a 12-minute drive from downtown East St Louis, have been dealing with persistent flooding and sewage overflows. The smell of it is in the air all over town after a rain, and bits of soggy toilet paper and slicks of human waste cling to the grass in neighborhoods where children used to play on warm days, locals said. Kids don’t play outside any more. Gardens don’t grow.

Like Smith, other locals say their water tastes odd and refuse to drink from their taps, relying on donated shipments of bottled water. They worry about the long-term health effects of living under such conditions, and they say that for years elected officials and local utility companies inadequately addressed their cries for help.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: bidenvoters; blackenvy; centreville; democratrule; illinois; sewage; wakanda
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 181-200201-220221-240241-251 next last
To: dynachrome

http://www.cityofcentreville-il.com/city-council/

Every person that runs this town is black.


221 posted on 02/12/2021 5:03:34 PM PST by Fzob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Dilbert San Diego

No, I think she’s saying if the people who were running the town were white these problems wouldn’t be happening.


222 posted on 02/12/2021 5:05:35 PM PST by FrdmLvr
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome
Residents and environmental justice advocates also believe that these issues persist because the town is one of the poorest in America, with a median household income of less than $15,000 a year and almost half of residents living below the poverty line.

Sigh....these issues persist because of a number of reasons. The community apparently doesn't hold their officials accountable. The Mayor has been in office since 2007 and now they're trying to merge his $-hit hole with another one and he's happy to lose his job as Mayor “for the betterment of the community” - translated from crooked Dem speech to reality, “The sewage problem is attracting too much attention and I don't want to be the next Ray Nagin”. Apparently Duckworth arranged a meeting with him to address the issue and he blew her off. But if the merger doesn't happen, they'll re-elect him anyway because he shares the same melanin content and that's all that matters (most of the time).

When MLK Jr. made his, “I Have a Dream” speech, he looked forward to a day when people would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. We all know what he meant when he said that but I wonder if it ever occurred to him that his advice on character judgment applies (perhaps more so) to those who he was championing.

223 posted on 02/12/2021 5:10:14 PM PST by liberalh8ter (The only difference between flash mob 'urban yutes' and U.S. politicians is the hoodies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: The MAGA-Deplorian

“Probably, because whitie wouldn’t vote for Democraps for 50 years thinking things will get better”


Uh,no-—whitie has been voting Dem for years in MA.

.


224 posted on 02/12/2021 5:13:59 PM PST by Mears (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 116 | View Replies]

To: mylife

The plants seem to be getting plenty of fertilizer.


225 posted on 02/12/2021 5:26:12 PM PST by Hootowl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: nesnah
Gua-ran-damn-tee you this is government housing.

It isn't. Centreville Illinois is a very small, poor community in the flat, poorly drained plain just across the river from St. Louis. You can take a quick tour on Google maps and see how poor it is.

The Guardian article creates a false, and racist argument that the cause of the sewage problems in Centreville is that white people moved out. In reality many people of all races moved out over the years, leaving behind decrepit houses and a weak city government. The sewage and drainage problems come from the local terrain, and a failure by the local government to spend enough to maintain the sewage system.

Published reports show that the city spent only $29,000 on the sewage system in 2018, or a little less than $6.00 per person. The city collected $15,000 in fees for sewerage from the citizens, or just about $3.00 per person for the entire year.

Does anyone really expect to operate and maintain a citywide sewage system for $29,000 per year? Do the residents really think that they are buying a real sewer service for $1 per month for a family of 4?

The local residents pay about 1 million dollars a year in property taxes to their city government. If they want to improve their sewer system, or the management of storm water they need to get their own elected officials to do a better job.

226 posted on 02/12/2021 5:26:27 PM PST by freeandfreezing
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Bruce Campbells Chin

A municipality should not be using tax dollars to fund their sewer system.

A sewer system should be funded via usage fees (sewer bills) and that revenue should go into an enterprise fund. And that enterprise fund should ONLY be used for expenses related to the operation of the sewer system.

This is considered best practice, and may in fact be legally mandated in some states.


227 posted on 02/12/2021 5:57:26 PM PST by brianl703
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 194 | View Replies]

To: mylife

Gardens are not not growing because of lots of fertilizer.

They are not growing for lack of care and skill.


228 posted on 02/12/2021 6:18:57 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

Look at South Africa before blacks took over compared to it now. Liberals, especially black liberals, ruin everything they touch. I sincerely wish it weren’t so.


229 posted on 02/12/2021 6:20:49 PM PST by KevinB (''... and to the Banana Republic for which it stands ...")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: brianl703

Trying to run a sewer system for 5000 people with a yearly budget of less than $30,000 seems almost impossible. How can there be any funds for maintenance?


230 posted on 02/12/2021 6:31:50 PM PST by freeandfreezing
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 227 | View Replies]

To: freeandfreezing

It would be very interesting to know what this municipality is charging for sewer service.


231 posted on 02/12/2021 6:38:19 PM PST by brianl703
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 230 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome
"Centreville, a nearly all-Black town of 5,000 in southern Illinois, just a 12-minute drive from downtown East St Louis."

They can't quite yet see the problem.. I think they need more democratic politicians to show them the way..

232 posted on 02/12/2021 6:40:58 PM PST by unread (A REPUBLIC..! If you can keep it....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MercyFlush

Steam cleaned. Haven’t heard that in years.


233 posted on 02/12/2021 6:58:53 PM PST by ebshumidors ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: unread

Typical statement from the race of professional victims.


234 posted on 02/12/2021 7:16:54 PM PST by vetvetdoug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 232 | View Replies]

To: TangoLimaSierra

Hilarious......LOL


235 posted on 02/12/2021 7:25:15 PM PST by vespa300
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: brianl703
According to city-data.com, the 2018 total revenue for sewerage was about $15,000. That is about $3.00 per resident.

Clearly not enough to support even the most minimal maintenance.

The town has suffered the fate of many communities when industry moves out and jobs are hard to obtain. The location, in or near a floodplain is not optimal, and the remaining population is mired in poverty.

The attempt by the Guardian, and the activist they interviewed to blame the problems on racism is ridiculous.

236 posted on 02/12/2021 8:00:38 PM PST by freeandfreezing
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 231 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

Move.
Problem Over


237 posted on 02/12/2021 8:37:36 PM PST by Truthoverpower (The guv-mint you get is the Swamp express to communist hell !! )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dynachrome

And they have done nothing about, but lament if only white people were there it would be fixed. Then why don’t you fix it??????????

This is like some kind of admission that they can’t do anything on their own.


238 posted on 02/12/2021 8:40:17 PM PST by Captain Peter Blood (https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3804407/posts?q=1&;page)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: William Tell

Well said.


239 posted on 02/12/2021 10:59:28 PM PST by ThunderSleeps (Biden/Harris - illegitimate and everyone knows it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 128 | View Replies]

To: William Tell; ThunderSleeps; dynachrome
Liberal policies that divert resources into nonsense like global warming, saving snail darters, midnight basketball, and free needle exchanges do NOT leave money to address flood control projects, adequate sewer systems, or anything else that would make a community livable.

People in West Oakland (California) complain about flooding, but most of the area is built on marsh and landfill, it's known as "The Bottoms." And they're complaining about "climate change" and rising sea levels. Who built the pump station there? Who reclaimed the land and built the original houses?

240 posted on 02/13/2021 12:11:14 AM PST by thecodont
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 128 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 181-200201-220221-240241-251 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson