On June 14, 2019, residents of University Park, Illinois learned from their private water supplier, Aqua Illinois, that recent water testing had uncovered lead levels in alarming excess of the EPA’s allowable limit of 15 µg/L (15 ppb). Aqua’s engineers failed to reduce the levels for the next three years, even in the face of Illinois EPA monitoring and a lawsuit filed by the Secretary of State. Confronted with a recalcitrant corporation and unresponsive local government, staff and parishioners of the First Baptist Church of University Park, along with other local organizations, provided residents with bottled water, monitored lead levels, petitioned the state government for relief, and sought to hold Aqua accountable. Even after lead levels returned to a legally permissible range in 2022, residents' concerns have persisted amidst an increase in rates of cancer and stroke. Meanwhile, Aqua Illinois received state approval to raise water rates. A 2024 legal settlement with Aqua, agreed to by University Park’s attorney, provides less than $1 million to update the hydraulic infrastructure for the 7,000 residents of this majority African American community.

This roundtable will feature a conversation between Reverend Justin Hamler, Associate Pastor of the First Baptist Church of University Park and a key organizer of the church’s efforts to secure safe drinking water for residents; Eliot Fackler, Assistant Professor of History and Director of First Year Seminar at Governors State University; and Megan VanGorder, Assistant Professor of History and Coordinator of Social Studies Secondary Education at Governors State University. The panelists will discuss the history of University Park’s privately managed water supply; residents’ ongoing public health concerns and continued mistrust of Aqua Illinois, state agencies, and local government; and the efforts by church staff and Governors State University faculty and students to document the water crisis.

Following short presentations, the panelists will involve audience members in a discussion about why events like University Park’s water crisis receive so little public attention, the present status of the community’s water problems, and how secondary and post-secondary educators might use local history and project-based learning to strengthen university-community partnerships and provide meaningful educational opportunities for students.