water to hundreds of cities and tribal nations from Chicago to Duluth to Toronto, local leaders from across this region are realizing they have a lot in common and are joining together to advocate for their shared needs and resources.

The Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Cities Initiative is a multi national coalition of city and local leaders dedicated to supporting the region last week, a group of these mayors visited DC to bring their priorities to the national stage.

Among the issues they advocated for our renewal of the clean water state revolving fund which provides financing for lead pipe removal shoreline protection, invasive species control and economic development across the Great Lakes region.

So joining us now are Sam Cunningham, the mayor of far north suburban Waukegan, Randi Connor commissioner of the Chicago Department of Water Management and John Altenburg, president and CEO of the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Cities Initiative.

Thanks to the 3 of you for joining us and Some air coming in.

want to start with you, please.

You all went to DC last week met with politicians on both sides of the aisle about Sunday's issues.

What makes Great Lakes management, a bipartisan issue.

I think if you take a look 84% of the surface, freshwater.

>> And in North American Legion.

As part of Having and understanding that.

That makes it clear and we can not.

Take for granted that this war cannot be protected by any means.

And having all those legislators with Great Lakes, a part of the reason.

It was clear to me that they understood that this must be not just a bipartisan issue, but issue that protects the region as a whole.

So it was exciting to be there for that.

>> Commissioner Connor, what or Chicago have in common with cities like Waukegan when it comes to Great Lakes Management?

>> You know, so the greatest part about this is that we all have some of the same issues, whether it's funding with some of the major projects that we're trying to do.

But the one greatest thing that we have in common is trying to protect the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes, not only deliver water for our cities but also contribute contributes to work in catoosa jobs contributes to the economy.

Although the times that the if you if you take the Great Lakes and you shut the water off or 24 hours.

It will be devastating.

You're talking just on the hospitality industry along.

You're talking probably close to 2 billion dollars a day that will be lost.

All right.

So the idea will be to just kind of make sure that we protected and make sure that we're doing everything we can to ensure that that source things there.

>> Mary Cunningham did federal lawmakers that you spoke with last week?

They seem like they're listening to the local concerns that you're bringing being a local leader.

Did you feel like you had the ear of the federal people?

I I think there was a sense understanding that.

>> This fresh essential critical water is a need all Americans across this country needs just.

plain fact it was it.

I saw more of an essential need and make that important.

mean, the locals to be there to be honest, they were more excited to see.

local mayors and those who represents that the Great Lakes.

And I think they that we won.

We were that sort of shocked by your are sort of the coalition right but not by the coalition.

>> But the fact that we knew so much and how much it meant to us in the passion that we have.

>> So at that inspired me more than anything else.

they danced to question.

They definitely excited to see U.S.

generals.

And we're going to get you in here because the relationship between the United States and Canada, it has shifted under the Trump administration.

>> The does the work that you Does that affect is the work?

Does that affect the work that you do with local Certainly does.

We have an integrated economy?

We have 19.8 billion dollars worth of trade and we come out of Illinois that exports to Canada.

Thousands and thousands of jobs that are at stake here in the U.S.

and in Illinois.

our mayors cannot sit idle and not worry about trade between the 2 countries.

They have the same at threat.

So, yes, it's extremely important.

the difference between the rest of the country and here in the Great Lakes is that we're an integrated economy, businesses.

There's a bus company that's just across the border in Canada where that bus that get to get manufactured goes across 20 times you can't tax every time they go to cross across the border.

So are in a good economy is is essential.

So it causes great complication.

What impact have tariffs had on the economy of the region?

I mean, it's it's seen the cost of living that's gone up tremendously right.

cost products and services, they're gone up.

We industry products that are being taken off the shelf in Canada.

You can't you can't buy, you know, certain beverages, alcohol beverages that are produced here in the United States.

And can you tells the team or so it's really starting to hurt us and it's hurting.

You know, the auto industry is hurting number of top economic indicators.

Commissioner, what federal policy impact Chicago's lead service line replacement effort, which we know is already.

>> Far behind where I think a lot of folks would like for it to be.

>> So we depend on federal funding for a lot of the work that we do and have to make sure we continue the fight this year alone just the city Chicago, prob probably will sign for the state Illinois over 234 million dollars just to be able to stay on pace placing lead service lines.

At this point, we're probably only getting unstable as probably get about 5% of what we would normally get in the past, which is about a little more than 500 million dollars.

Okay.

>> John, the initiative balances, Environmental Protection and economic development of the Great Lakes region.

Had these goings relate to each other.

Well.

>> In the long term we have to protect this 80 over 80% of the North America's water over 20% of the world's water, that it's in region.

So it's on us up on us to protect the Great Lakes and the fresh water.

And we have economic strategy to turn economy into what we call the fresh Coast Economic corridor with climate changing with temperatures, they are going exceed 12025 degrees in Phoenix.

If you're in telling your manufacturing Phoenix, you have access to fresh water.

You don't the energy that's going to needed to produce keep those those factors cool.

You're going to move into this region.

We know this is going to happen over the next 10 years.

And our plan is to bring over 17 million new jobs to our region and over 500,000 new industries.

So but if we don't do it right, we're going situation that it was in the last turn of the last century.

When we face Kyle.

river right outside of Cleveland was in flames because we didn't take care of our fresh water and then economic boom became a bust.

So they're absolutely essential that we need to make sure the right industries move here.

And so economy and environment, there tight end of him.

>> Mary Cunningham, what have you learned from other mayors who are also part of this that you can bring back to work?

You can.

>> I think what I've learned is that people working across the aisle.

Happens often than we think.

Taking that information back to our local communities, whether they be from mayors from East side of a me and county and state leaders.

Hey, we need to keep our fully strong, unify, collaborative to understand that if we take our messaging and get it to the right people throughout DC they will then transit and make the possess needed.

So this region can continue to prosper as it's supposed to be.

>> Commissioner, as the surrounding communities outside the Great Lakes Basin.

The start to look towards Lake Michigan for water.

What's the responsibility of the city of Chicago to ensure long-term stewardship of that So what I love about choosing the city of Chicago is that we are great part is even with people outside the basin itself.

And what we're trying to do is make sure that we were giving water and providing water, everybody who needs it.

The reality is investigating water infrastructure.

There's no investment in Illinois as an investment Chicago's and investment.

And Detroit is an investment everywhere because we're all drawing from the same water source.

So I think again, as a mayor said, they working across the aisles, understand what that looks like.

Understanding how much funding is coming in.

Things of that nature is how we're going provide water, right?

That's where we'll have to leave it My thanks to the 3 of you, Waukegan Mayor Sam