Water Cooler Talk At State Agencies to Dry Up

By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 30, 2007 8:10PM

Giving new meaning to the phrase "money's too tight to mention", a memo from Illinois Department of Central Management Services acting director Maureen O'Donnell set a November 16 deadline for all state agencies to opt out of all bottled water contracts. From the memo:

"As Chief Procurement Officer, I am charged with continually seeking ways for the State of Illinois to reduce its expenditures. I am therefore requesting that all State agencies cease purchasing bottled water with State funds. This shall apply both to purchases of individual water bottles and larger bottles that are dispensed through water coolers…"

The memo does not apply to state offices with employee-funded "water funds." A press release we received this afternoon from Corporate Accountability International congratulates the state government for taking this step, but we suspect that if the budget wasn't in such a sorry state, they would have dragged their feet on this a bit longer. Now to see if the city will follow the state's lead.

Image via www.abledata.com.