Editorial: Our Endorsements For Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Yes, It Matters.

Three incumbents and one challenger are competing for three open seats on the board of commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, a low-profile but surprisingly big and important special purpose government agency serving Cook County.

The MWRD, as it’s known, helps to keep our water fresh, basements dry and waterways clear. It handles wastewater at reclamation plants across Cook County, works with local communities on anti-flooding projects, operates reservoirs and tunnels for additional flood protection and maintains waterways and leads stormwater management efforts across the county. It is a critical line of defense against the impacts of our changing climate. Commissioners serve six-year terms.

First-time candidate Sarah Bury, an environmental lawyer, has launched a spirited, grassroots campaign. She also has the support of the Sierra Club, where she has volunteered. She promises to be a change agent who will focus on equitable distribution of green space, improving water quality and reducing the flooding that plagued her childhood home in Chicago.

Bury has kind words for two of the incumbent candidates vying for three other seats on the commission in the upcoming primary. And we agree that Precious Brady-Davis and Eira Lizbeth Corral Sepúlveda deserve reelection to their posts.

The other incumbent, Beth McElroy Kirkwood, is Bury’s target. Prior to being appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker at the end of 2024, McElroy Kirkwood had no special environmental credentials. Bury says her opponent is more interested in cozying up to her political pals than tackling the complicated MWRD business at hand.

Yet McElroy Kirkwood has years of public-service experience, serving as committeewoman in suburban Orland Township, and chairing the Moraine Valley Community College board of trustees. After Pritzker appointed her, she left her post as an educator in Orland Park schools to focus on the MWRD, she told us.

The commission has lawyers and scientists on staff who provide expertise she’s missing, McElroy Kirkwood said, and she touts her skills in administration, budgeting and other management fundamentals. She puts her relationships with elected officials in the Chicago area and Springfield to use in the MWRD’s lobbying efforts. Expanding its Space to Grow program, which builds eco-friendly playgrounds in needy neighborhoods, is a priority.

The MWRD does an important job with minimal fanfare.

We endorse incumbents McElroy Kirkwood, Brady-Davis and Corral Sepúlveda.

Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois primary election here. 

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.