Indiana Mayor Says Great Lakes Water More Valuable Than Slots

Re-selling Great Lakes water is one city's ace in the hole:

Water, not casino revenue, is the key to economic development in Indiana, says the Hammond mayor who wants to turn the south suburbs into a cash station for his city.

“This is millions of dollars for Hammond residents,” Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. recently told his residents in explaining a quadrupling of water prices to Chicago Heights...

Chicago Heights is suing Hammond in federal court to prevent Hammond from increasing the price of water from 57 cents per 1,000 gallons to $2.20 per 1,000 gallons.

Hammond sells drinking water to Chicago Heights, which in turn supplies the lake water to Glenwood, Thornton, South Chicago Heights and Ford Heights.